Collection of the Smash Stories: Unearthed
by KoopalingFan
Summary: What happens behind the closed doors of the Smash Mansion? Join a group of authors from 'The Fanfics Forum' as each one of them shares their tales on each character in Brawl. Each tale is spawned with love, betrayal, and friendship, and you will never forget a single one of them.
1. Chapter 1: Smasher Fox

Collection of the Smash Stories: Unearthed

Chapter 1- Smasher Fox

**Yes, it is me again. Some of you may have just took a look at my other collab with Icee the Hedgehog titled 'Priorities', and here I am, publishing yet another In-Progress smash fiction.**

**But this is going to possibly be one of the biggest Smash projects this archive has ever seen. (I think...) It involves most of the authors that are from 'The Fanfics Forum', which supports the Super Smash Brothers: The Fanfics community.**

**Before I officially start this off, I just wanna thank every author that is involved in this, because I never realized the forum would be this successful. Heck, it was only created about five months ago!**

**You all will see chapters from other known authors such as Icee the Hedgehog, Paradigm of Writing, LilacFoxGirl1, Plasmatroopa, CrystalClearCourier, DavidNoklevername, HyperInuyasha, and more. So please give credit to everyone who's posted chapters.**

**~KF**

* * *

**Fox McCloud**

* * *

"Are you sure you can't get someone else to do it? ...Like... Mario or something? He is the main hero of this whole universe, after all..."

"As much as I want to Fox, I'm afraid not. Falco and Wolf are from _your_ home planet and not his. Plus, you know them more than anyone else in this mansion, leaving you with no other option to choose."

Fox McCloud, the main hero of the Lylat System had been called to Master Hand's office the minute after he finished his breakfast back at the cafeteria. Now that he was at the office, his question was finally answered as to why he was called.

He had to interview Falco Lombardi and Wolf O'Donnell.

No, it was not an interview just so that he can get the chance to know them, only because that they already had, it was an interview as to why the wanted to be a part of the upcoming Super Smash Brothers era. He'd never done anything like it before, but as much as he loved to be an interviewer someday, he needed to interview two people he didn't want.

Falco was known to be in a close, friendly relationship with the vulpine ever since Falco joined team StarFox back on the planet Corneria. Ever since he admitted that he used to be involved in a galactic gang, the bond between the two was born. However, it didn't meant that the two always got along no matter what. Falco was a little ignorant at times when someone makes him annoyed, yet at the same time, he had his sense of humor, as much as he knew when to be serious.

As most of his fans knew, Wolf was considered to be a rival to Fox and Falco. He would dislike like him half the time, but when neither of them are bothering them, he could tolerate them somewhat. Like Falco, he could be pretty cocky, only worse. His sense of humor would show whenever he felt like irritating his fellow brawlers. Though, he never done so as often whenever he was around Bowser, Ganondorf, Wario, and King Dedede, the former three mainly.

With a sigh in realization that there was no other way around it, Fox accepted his responsibility. "Fine, I'll do it... But don't expect wanting to do this at another time..."

"Alright, then." Master Hand 'nodded', floating to the door to open it afterwards. Upon seeing him float away, Fox realized that he'd forgotten one detail.

"Hey, I need to chair to sit at if I'm going to interview them from your desk..."

* * *

"Falco Lombardi, please report to... Master Hand's office as soon as possible... Thank you..."

The anthropomorphic fox placed the microphone back in its holder. After he received a solid brown chair from Master Hand almost ten minutes later, he could finally get to business. Since he'd just made an announcement telling his avian bird friend to pay in a visit in the office, he knew he had to be patient for him to show.

Realizing that he had a couple more minutes to be alone, he placed his feet up on the table of the brown desk with ankles crossed. To add onto it, his two arms were placed behind his head as he slouched in his chair, subsequently closing his eyes, not caring if he had the risk of falling asleep, only because he never wanted to do the job that was assigned by his master.

Right before he could even think of any dreams he desired if he slept, a loud knock was heard on the door, making McCloud scrambled to a standing position in an instant. Taking a few steps to the door, he opened it, revealing Falco with an annoyed stare and folded arms.

Although he knew that it was the type of reaction he was expecting, he was definitely surprised that he already concluded his journey to the office. "...Just how did you manage to get here so quickly?"

"I was about to head in the Teleporter Room to have a brawl with Yoshi, but then your voice boomed from the speakers, making me a little angry because I was just about the fight! And why does it have to be you who has to interview us? Why does it have to be now and not later? Like, when I'm not brawling or something!"

Fox sighed, rolling his eyes. "I'm going to try and summarize this all up. Master Hand is on a tight schedule, so he chose to call me down just because I've known you two back in our world. And he wanted to get this out of the way as soon as possible because he is planning on creating more stages for the upcoming Super Smash Brothers era. You can go file a complaint later if you want. Now, please take a seat so that we can get this over and done with..."

Those words being said, the taller veteran walk to the nearest of the two red velvet chairs and sat, his right leg crossing with his left knee and arms still folded.

Fox responded to this by giving him a bored stare. "Proper sitting position, please..."

"Hmph..."

Once he was in said sitting position, Fox proceeded to begin the interview. "Since I already know your name, we can just skip that part. Anyways, here comes the main question. Why do you want to remain a smasher for the upcoming Super Smash Brothers era?"

"Easy." Falco smirked, "Being a smasher since the Melee era made me feel as if I'm an important person, which I already am of course."

Ignoring his vulpine friend rolling his pair of eyes, he continued. "I was known to be one of the more advance fighters, since I have my fans looking at those tier lists. Some might consider me as a clone of you, but trust me. If I was a direct clone, then how come they don't see me as your identical twin?"

Despite being slightly annoyed that he was bragging about himself, Fox had to force a small smile. _"Gotta admit, I kinda like his question at the end."_ He thought, "Okay, then. So, what is your specialty when it coms to fighting? And what is your style when it comes to combat?"

"Even better question... with an 's'..." Lombardi mumbled, "I prefer to be a skilled fighter, unlike some people who wants nearly every single attack to be powerful, yes I'm talking about Ike, Bowser, Ganondorf, you get the point. And for my fighting style, I'd like to be an aerial ace and wait for openings for attacks."

"Interesting." Fox nodded, "If Master Hand accepts you as a veteran fighter for the new Smash Brothers era, do you wish to improve?"

"Ugh, I have to explain my downside..." Falco mumbled again, even though he clearly knew that the shorter smasher could hear, "Yes, I do wish to improve my fighting techniques... I think that's all that needs to be said about it..."

"Alright, then. What are your advantages when it comes to your fighting?"

Falco's mood quickly changed back following that statement. He pulled out his blaster from his holster and spun it around vertically. "Obviously this baby to start off. A technique that I learned in the Brawl era is called 'Short-Hop Double Laser', which of course you are familiar with since we both share this technique. It forces my opponents to approach me instead of me approaching them, simply making battling an easier task. Since I'm an aerial ace, I can do well against some ground fighters like Zelda. And finally, I am one of the few that can perform a good chain grab."

"Nice." Fox commented, "Now for the last question. What are your weaknesses in battle?"

"Here we go with my downside again..." He sighed, "Well,... one of my problems has to do with my recovery, being that it is pretty straight forward and does not go as high as yours or Wolf's... And I hate to admit that I can have a difficult time trying to K.O... Nonetheless, there are not that many known weaknesses I have, so I guess it's not that bad..."

"Cool, cool..." He nodded again, while writing down on a yellow note pad. Once he set his black pen down, his head shifted upwards to meet his again. "Okay, then. I believe that is it. You can leave, now."

"Gladly." Falco smirked, getting to his feet to dash out the door. It was quite obvious that he really wanted to brawl with Yoshi just to show off his skills.

"...That actually went pretty well in a way..." The Lylat hero shrugged, picking up the microphone for a second time to call the next fighter, "Wolf O'Donnell, please report to Master Hand's office as soon as possible. Thank you."

* * *

"... ... ..."

Fox was now impatiently tapping his fingers on the desk, his face on the knuckles of his right hand, with a tired look slowly becoming visible in his eyes. He had waited about ten minutes for his rival Wolf to show up. Yes, he knew that the Smash Mansion had become bigger with the new smashers and Assist Trophies coming in, but it shouldn't take the lupine about ten minutes just to get to Master Hand's office. He confirmed that if he was not in the room after three more minutes elapses, he would simply make another announcement. And if that didn't work, he would have to call some other smashers so that Wolf could be in the office by force.

Although, on the bright side, if he didn't show himself up in three minutes, he had the opportunity to use that time to relax. After all, he was a bit sleepy, since he was one of the last smashers to drift off into sleep the night before. He stretched into the same position he did before he had to interview Falco.

The moment his eyes could close completely, a knock was then heard from the door, Fox of course being annoyed. Deja vu.

"It's open... Come in..." He said, dropping his feet to floor while his hands grabbed the pen and notepad, the latter being flipped to a new page.

Only a few seconds passed before Fox thought of why he never said those words when Falco was at the door. The veteran basically got up for nothing.

Nevertheless, O'Donnell entered the room to see his rival. Not paying attention to the fact that his arrival was more calmer than Falco's, Fox got right to business. The poor pilot was that desperate to get his job over with.

"What's up?" Wolf greeted, "Not that I actually _want _to see you here... You're not our master..."

Fox quickly sighed. "Look our _master _really has his... hand full for the time being. Let's just get these questions over with so that we can resume doing whatever we desire..." He cleared his throat, "Why do you think you deserve to be recognized as a smasher for the upcoming era?"

"Hmm... Where can this guy begin...?" His clawed finger proceeded to stroke the bottom of his chin, "Well, Master Hand and you all know that I don't have these claws for nothing, them being sharpened on a weekly basis in order for them to hurt my opponents in battle. The leader of StarWolf does not play around in battle. I may not be the best like Meta Knight, but since I'm a bounty hunter, never expect an easy battle when I'm on the field of battle."

_"And I thought Falco was the one who brags the most... besides Sonic..." _Fox shrugged, "Okay, now... What is your specialty? Fighting style?"

"My blaster, which is the only one that I consider to be _real_." O'Donnell smirked, "And I like to be a 'reactive' type of smasher, meaning that whatever attack the other fighters throw at me, I throw back. In other words, defense. But sometimes I don't wanna play safe."

"Knowing you, I'd thought that you never wanted to play safe in brawl in the first place..." Fox recalled, "Shall I-"

"No." Wolf promptly interrupted, "Please do _not _bring up those flashback of me on Smashville and Final Destination. Those were the worst brawls in the _history_... of brawls..."

"...Anyways, moving on..." Fox cleared his throat once again, his fist covering his mouth for a brief second, "In combat, what are your advantages?"

Wolf held his clawed index finger on his left hand. "Once again, the claws... And how do I put this... In my first brawl match against Sonic, Lucario, and Snake, I've gotta say that I am glad I chose to be a bounty hunter, because that had greatly affected my skills in combat a lot. Despite that, I'm still learning new techniques to this very day in time, to make sure I'm the absolute best this mansion's ever seen. Fangirls would faint when they see me in the next tournament, because Wolf O'Donell will be the one to take each and every fighter down."

"... ... ..." No words could escaped from the mouth of his rival, though he had to think for a moment. _"...Wow, Wolf... Just wow..."_

"Ahem."

"Oh," He snapped back to reality, "My apologies there. If Master Hand does confirm you as the next veteran to join, do you wish to improve?"

"Indeed I wish to improve, Cloud."

He hated it when he called them that. Even back in the Lylat System, whenever he had the chance to call him that, it made him imagine himself being an actual cloud. As much as he wanted to say something to the older fighter, he shoved that thought away because all he wanted to do at the time was to finish the interview, knowing that he was almost done with Wolf.

"Although I have skills that are deadly to certain smashers, there are fighters that are _somehow _more skilled then me... Meta Knight..." He mumbled the Star Warrior's name, "I'm in the middle of the tier list, but at least I am above you. In fact, Falco is one of the Top-Tiers. So, I have to run this fact in. You're literally the worst StarFox smasher in the tier list."

"Insults not needed, thank you." He immediately responded back. Yes, it was another dislike he had to deal with on times like this, even when someone had to bring up the tier lists. One would find it understandable, though, since he was the best smasher in the Melee era. For the Brawl era, though, he could never find out what went wrong.

"Last question. It's actually similar to this one. What are your weaknesses against the other members of the Smash Team?"

The leader of StarWolf sighed, shaking his head. "You're not easy to get along with, are you? Well, some attacks are performed _way _too quickly, some attacks are _too _powerful to handle, the bright side being that they are a little too slow. It's basically a fifty-fifty matchup whenever I'm battling certain brawlers such as Donkey Kong. Finally, my recovery can be a little outta hand, though you know that I hate to admit that..."

"Well Wolf, we all have our ups and downs." Fox explained, "We can't win every match, yet we can't lose every match. Even Meta Knight has lost a match against Ganondorf once, and you know that. That is why we always use the phrase, 'practice makes perfect'."

At first the deadly animal didn't know how to respond. "... ... ...You know what? ...You're actually... _not _right... See ya."

With that being said, the lupine got up from the red velvet chair and exited Master Hand's office, leaving Fox alone to give a blank stare at the door.

"... ... ..." He sighed, getting up from his own chair, "That guy would never grow up... And the worst thing is, he is older than both me _and _Falco... Well, at least the train had finally reached its destination. ...Worst phrase ever, but I don't care. I'm leaving this office, not even going to call Master Hand to let him know that I'm done."

He opened the door that was just closed by his rival and wandered out. "I hope to Lylat that Kirby had not swallowed the vending machine again..."

* * *

**And there you have it. The first chapter of this great collab has finally been published. There will be a different user on the next chapter of course. All you guys have to do is to guess which one's coming up next.**

**Anyways, we encourage all Smash fans to review and give critcism as needed. And don't forget to check out our other fanfictions if you want!**


	2. Chapter 2: Smasher Link

Collection of the Smash Stories: Unearthed

Chapter 2- Smasher Link

**Hello everyone, this is Paradigm of Writing here; part of 'The Fanfics Forum', moderator group. I get to grace the white screen of you're computer, phone, or tablet with my audacious writing. Trust me, this story is promising. I'll give you that! You are being able to read the works of some amazing authors like KoopalingFan- the administrator of 'The Fanfics' forum and community, David Noklevername: writer of an amazing piece called Dear Fan Fiction, Plasmatroopa, LilacFoxGirl1, Cheesy One, CrystalClearCourier; writer of the story With Smashers like These, and Icee the Hedgehog, a renown writer in the Super Smash Bros and Sonic the Hedgehog video game fandoms. I suggest you give me and all these amazing writers a look to boost our moral.**

**A little snippet about me. I joined on July 15th of last year and I've written sixteen stories over the span of four fandoms, nine of them being in this particular one. You may have read my most popular fanfiction; Cross Examined, about Ness and Lucas struggling in a mystery and war over power or have glimpsed at my horror-one shot's in Don't Touch the Photo; my claim to horror fame. This chapter, as you can tell, is a one-shot about Link. Enjoy. Oh, and side note; expect OOC from Link.**

* * *

**Link**

* * *

"Hero of Time..." Link pondered, rubbing his chin. "What does that even mean to me? I'm a hero, I got that. Now, it's the time part that bothers me. Sure, I saved Zelda's behind from that warlock Ganondorf, but where does that leave me? A simple kiss on the cheek and a goodbye? No, that is not how it should go. My dedication to Zelda deserves more than just a title! I am the epitome of greatness. People look up to me. Being the Hero of Time has a nice ring to it, but is that all? I'm not Mario, or Red, or even Marth. I'm just a Hyrule citizen who was in the right place at the wrong time."

He felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned around to see Zelda smiling back down at him, her lemonade eyes bright and gleaming with excitement. "Hello Link." the Hyrulian princess smiled.

"Speaking of the devil."

Zelda frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I was... thinking. Thinking about my title; Hero of Time and what it really means," Link said, swiping some blond hair over his ear. "I get a title, and that's all. I saved you from inevitable death, risked my own life which I could never get back, and all I get is a title? Mario is the prime leader of sports everywhere! Princess Peach gets to be interviewed daily by the Super Smash Society Television Network. You and Marth get to go to parties everywhere in Hyrule and Altea. Me? I get to stay home and babysit a 2D picture that cannot even talk! That's all I am. Just a title... without substantial meaning."

Link sighed and sat down in the chair by his bedroom window. It was storming outside, streaks of lighting racing across the sky in a fluorescent dash. Gray skies trampled over the hills and valley's; giving an angry glare as they passed by. Peals of thunder erupted from within the bleak and grim atmosphere into a symphony of percussion instruments that took flight, while crystalline rain bombarded and razed the ground where it hit. Link's glassy blue eyes flashed behind a bolt of lightning. He almost wished to go and be electrocuted.

Zelda had paused from her soothing response which was to counter-act Link's negative jeer. Her auburn hair; tied in a ponytail, swooped back and forth behind her back as she made small sliding steps over to her savior. Her lemonade eyes scanned over Link's face as she glided, trying to persuade a slip of emotion to slide through her rescuer's downcast expression. The wind from the thunderstorm outside was so strong, it blew her strawberry and violet dress back in a snapping wake with a sound that rivaled a whip's. Sitting down next to Link, she grabbed his hand and patted it. Leaning in to Link's neck, she kissed it to bring his gaze up to hers.

"Link... why would ever think that? You mean so much to me. Had you not saved me from Ganon's clutches, I would probably be some toy for his salvaging needs. It does not help me to know that he lurks here in this mansion. It unsettles me that Master Hand even considered inviting him here to brawl with us. Of course you mean so much to me. That title of yours? Hero of Time? It does not mean one thing, but multiple. You saved the Triforce of Wisdom from Ganondorf's grasp, destroyed Majora's Mask without crapping in your ranger outfit. Mario would go running if he saw Majora! I mean, how do you think he feels when he sees Bowser and Peach clash? He's ready to beat the living snot out of the deformed turtle the minute a claw hits his princess. You are the pauper to my princess Link. You should not let titles get in the way of our relationship, nor anyone else's for that matter."

Link looked at Zelda, his eyes trying to brighten up with little success. "What does my title even mean though? It's a brand Zelda! A stereotype! Mario has Jumpman, Red is Pokémon Master! You... actually I have no idea if you even have a title... but that's besides the point! They know what they're titles mean, and I do not. As a matter of fact, I do not know who I even am."

Another flash of lighting soared across the sky, giving Zelda's eyes a ghastly glow of despair and darkness. She grasped Link's hand and smothered her fingers over his. Link's rough mahogany gloves felt like silk against her skin as she brushed across his palm. Leaning forward, she kissed Link on the mouth, to see his reaction. Giggling, the Hyrulian princess leaned forward even further, knocking Link off of his chair and against the bed frame where both of them looked into one another's eyes.

Zelda retracted, stifling a laugh. "You should not need to care if you know what your title means. If I know what it means, then you do not have to worry. That is all that counts here and now."

Link hid a wisp of chestnut hair behind Zelda's ear, and smiled. "You know what? After this storm is over, let's go out for a dinner date. It seems as if you want our friendship to be taken a little bit farther with that stunt you just pulled on me."

Zelda smirked, and kissed Link again. "Anything for you. Please tell me though, why does not knowing what 'Hero of Time' is irritate you so much?"

The Hylian excuse for an elf sighed, brushing Zelda's pale face with a gloved hand. "I... I do not know the exact answer to that question. I am just confused on how everyone around me is put on a pedestal of such bravado and I'm left in the dust; picking up scraps left behind. I'm famous amongst you guys; but out in the arena, it is as if I am nonexistent. The crowd screams in blood lust, chanting out their favorite Smasher's names while mine is not even as so whispered back to me. I can see it in the fan's eyes Zelda, the raw emotion of entertainment, the anger, even the hatred towards us. If I somehow win a match, the crowd will murmur as they leave that it was a fluke, that my victory certainly was because Mario just tripped over his untied shoelaces and not because I had thrown a banana peel at his face. People do not appreciate me in that arena Zel, and you know that."

"Why do you need their approval? Is mine not enough?"

"That's up for you to decide Zel," Link answered quietly, returning his gaze back to the stormy outside world. "Besides, I've been cooped up in this mansion for how long now? Sixteen years I think. I'm corralled into this stereotype that I'm not good and eventually you begin to think like that is the only claim you will ever receive. The only thing that does not make it seem so hopeless is you, Marth, Ike, and Pit. You four understand where I came from, and how I'm put in this position even though you are not placed in it as deep as I am."

Zelda was about to interrupt when the power drowned out, the lightning from a nearby cloud zapped the energy out of the generator. The sounds of doors being open and slammed shut echoed throughout the hall. Link could feel Zelda's attention being brought back to him. "Perfect," he heard her scoff. "Just perfect."

Link could not help; but smile. "Yeah Zel, you are right. This is perfect, absolutely; wonderfully perfect."

Zelda thwacked Link's shoulder in the dark. "Link!" she scolded.

When Marth and Ike opened Link's dorm room to see if they were alright, the power came back on and these two unfortunate swordsman got more than an eye opening scene. Marth shut the door as quick as he opened it. Zelda lifted her head when she made sure there was no one in the room. Link grinned, beaming from ear to ear.

"Yes, Zelda; you heard me. Just perfect."

* * *

**Well, there you have it folks. My little one-shot dealing with Link's internalized problems in self-discovery and the bonding of his and Zelda's relationship. What they were doing is up for what I call 'the Reader's imagination'. I hope you all readers think I did Link justice and that you will continue onto our next chapter done by the next author done him/herself. Please review this story as we are just a group of writers trying to get the message across that the SSBB community is a community geared towards improving the society of literature and writing. Also, do us a nice favor and check each author out personally and drop them a 'Hello' or 'How are You', because this writing can be very tedious. As you can tell, my writing is shorter than some of the one-shots you'll be reading over and that is so I can give thine eyes a break from masses of text. I love you all! See you soon!**

**~Paradigm**


	3. Chapter 3: Smasher Ness

Collection of the Smash Stories: Unearthed

Chapter 3- Smasher Ness

**Good day, welcome to the Collection of the Smash Stories. I am HyperInuyasha and I will be your guide for today. Are you comfortable? It's nice to read things, but reading is much better when you're comfortable. Maybe have an iced tea or something. Anywho, I'm a recent member of The Fanfics Forum, a place where a bunch of writers of Smash Bros fanfiction come together, and I am proud to be part of their collaboration (it's actually the first one I've participated in, for that matter). Please, if you have the time and if you follow me already, check out the works of the preceeding and proceeding authors, they certainly deserve your attention.**

**Without further ado...**

* * *

**Ness**

* * *

The Eaglelander just wasn't in the mood for anything.

Ness laid in his bed, wrapped in the covers, a mess of fabrics. He is dressed up in his usual apparel (sans the hat), foregoing the pajamas that he wore for the nights before. The torch that normally lights his room was snuffed out; he didn't feel like lighting it, preferring the dark.

He didn't understand it. Nobody else understands it. He was fine just days ago. He was fighting alongside the other fighters (Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, Yoshi, Kirby, Fox, Pikachu, Luigi, Captain Falcon, and Jigglypuff) and did so with much enthusiasm. Yet, he went through a strange metamorphosis into a depressive state, losing interest in fighting, eating, and finally, leaving his room, which was the closest thing he could call home.

Ness hears his door open, though didn't flip to his other side to see who it was. Without warning, the room bursts with light, the visitor presumably relighting the torch. "...Go away." is all the youth can say, squinting his eyes at the intrusion of light.

"Ness, we are all-a worried about you." he recognizes the voice as Luigi. The visitor walks toward his bed; he yelps as he steps on the baseball bat that was carelessly left on the floor, tripping and falling on the floor. It's only then does the plumber notice what a mess the room was, trash casually strewn about. "K-kid, this isn't-a healthy!"

Ness let out a sad sigh. "I know."

Luigi gets up, feeling a little embarrassed, fixing his hat. "So… do you want-a anything…?"

"Yes. For you to leave."

The room is silent. However, after a few seconds, Ness hears him leave, footsteps heavy. Ness couldn't bring himself to get up to put the torch back out, so he wraps himself up, censoring the light from his eyes, and tries to sleep…

…

_...Big bro… I hope you have fun…._

_..._

_...Ruff, ruff! (Bring back souvenirs!) ..._

_..._

_...You promised a date, remember? When you come back from your tournament?_

_..._

_Please, tell me all about it… hearing about other worlds sounds fascinating!_

_..._

_...Train lots and lots! You'll never know what will happen in the future!_

_..._

_...You work as hard as your mother…_

_..._

_"Wake up, Ness."_

He returns to the waking world. He's no longer in his bed, his fortress of isolation, but rather, in an office, lined with bookcases of literature and encyclopedias from other worlds.

He groggily sits up, and looks at who he expects to be there...

...A giant, gloved hand.

"Ness, I've heard about your troubles." says Master Hand, concern in his psychic-like voice.

"..." the little boy doesn't answer.

The hand floats over and picks him up by the back of the shirt with his pointer finger and thumb, plopping him down in a chair. For one last touch, the benevolent boss places Ness' hat on his head. Master Hand floats to the other side of the desk the chair laid in front of.

Ness frowns underneath the cap. "It's nice that you guys are concerned, but… I just feel like sleeping." he says.

"Sleeping, hmm? What do you dream of?" echos the hand.

"..."

"Ness."

"...My family, my friends."

"Ah." he seems to nod (or what seems to be nodding, for a hand) with understanding, "I see."

Master Hand then points to something on his desk, something that the boy didn't really notice...

...A telephone.

"You know what you're suffering from." says the being, "You know what to do."

Ness' hand reaches toward the receiver…

...he remembers his journey. Those times that he, even surrounded by newfound friends, felt pangs of loneliness…

He picks it up and slowly inputs numbers on the keypad, feeling more elated with each press, hoping that the number hadn't changed.

...he recalls the short bouts of temporary happiness that a Chick provided him. He felt happy, but not by much…

The boundaries between universes didn't seem to matter to the phone of the ruler of Subspace. She picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?"

...and he remembers talking to her after all those bouts of homesickness.

"Hi, mom."

…

…

The conversation was short and sweet. Ness didn't make a big deal out of it, and his mother respected that. Just the standard "how are you doing" and "how are things".

"It was nice to talk to you again." says his mom in a sweet voice that made Ness feel right at home, "Please, don't get too beat up - of course, knowing you, you won't be letting your opponents give you too much trouble."

"Y, yes…" says Ness in a quiet voice.

"Call me soon!"

"Alright." Then, despite being in the vicinity of the giant hand, he wasn't embarrassed to add: "I love you, mom."

"I love you too."

Ness hangs up.

Master Hand observes him. "Feeling better?"

Ness nods. It felt as if the gnawing emptiness had been filled.

"You haven't eaten either, I've heard." he says, It was the hand's turn to pick up the receiver. "I'll get something special ordered for you. What do you want? Name anything."

"...Steak."

"...Like how your mother does it?" he guesses.

"I doubt you guys can make steak as good as her."

Regardless, he's in the mood to eat something.

* * *

**Ness suffering from homesickness is one of my favorite elements from Earthbound. Not only is it endearing and makes the world seem more real, but it reminds us that even if he's a hero, he's still a child.**

**~Hyper**


	4. Chapter 4: Smasher Ivysaur

Collection of the Smash Stories: Unearthed

Chapter 4- Smasher Ivysaur

**Hey there, everyone! CheesyOne here! I'm really excited to be apart of this project along with so many other talented writers! I can already tell that this is going to turn out to be amazing. If you've been enjoying this story so far, I'd encourage giving some of the other writers works a look as well.**

**As for me, I'm known for writing To the Ends of Space, an alternate retelling of SSE where Mario and some others have to travel to different planets, and my more popular fic, Moments Like These, which is a slice of life fic about the happy, sad, friendshippy(?) and mostly funny times of the Smashers.**

**All right, I'm done with my spiel. Let's get on to the one-shot, shall we? Here's the Seed Pokemon...**

* * *

**Ivysaur**

* * *

Around the time the Melee Tournament was hosted, plans of growing a garden began circulating around the mansion. The idea was backed by Peach, along with a few others, and together they set to work. What started as a small garden soon blossomed into magnificent fields of flora consisting of species from many different worlds, from Pellet Posies to some surprisingly docile Piranha Plants (That no one still quite trusted). As time went on, it was outfitted with fountains, both simple and elegant, as well as a wide assortment of various decorations.

It was here that Ivysaur spent most of her time.

Ivysaur was always an easygoing, if not somewhat dignified, Pokemon. And being a grass type, she had a special connection to plants of all kinds. Tending to flowers and sleeping the day away in flower beds; there wasn't much else she could ask for. Today, she was busy doing the latter, sleeping with the petals as her bed and the sun's rays as her blanket.

Waking up though, she found something was a little off. Blinking lazily, she noticed that she was surrounded by what seemed to be daisies, which was odd considering she swore she fell asleep near the tulips. The next thing she became aware of was an odd swaying motion rocking her back and forth. Almost as if she was being... carried?

A shot of panic tore apart any feelings of sleep she had left and she lashed out with her legs. She heard several high pitched squeals before she was dropped unceremoniously to the ground with an 'Oof!'. Cracking open one of her eyes, she finally came face to face with her would be captors.

Coming in several different colors and varying features, she found that she was surrounded by Pikmin. Exactly one hundred if she had bothered to count them all. It wasn't too uncommon to see them wandering the gardens, though they were almost always following that little captain around... They all stared at her with their beady eyes (red for the white Pikmin), confused.

With a bit off a huff, she gently pushed them aside with her vines. "Naughty things. I'll have you know, I am not your food," She knew that Pikmin tend to have a nasty habit of picking up anything that didn't move. Honestly, she always found them to be a bit of a nuisance. "Now shoo, all of you."

Holding her head up, she marched past them. She planned on heading to one of the more remote corners of the garden when she heard the patter of dozens of tiny feet accompanying her. She groaned and tried her best to ignore it. Surely they'd find something else to do, right? They continued to follow her for several minutes. Growling, she finally spun around. "I already told you! I'm not your food!"

The Pikmin all tilted their heads to the right.

"Please go find Olimar, or do anything else really. Just leave me be!"

The Pikmin all tilted their heads to the left.

She slowly backed away from the creatures, before suddenly turning and dashing for the mansion as fast as her stubby legs would take her. Which wasn't very fast at all.

* * *

Lucario hardly reacted when the mansions doors flung open as a frazzled Ivysaur sprawled out on the floor heaving. Three Pikmin wandered in and sat down on either side of her. He had sensed their aura approaching a good minute earlier and it didn't take long for him to figure out what was happening.

"Rather unusual company you have there," he said with a hint of amusement.

Ivysaur shot him a red eyed glare before pushing herself to her feet, trying to save at least some of her dignity. "It's not like I asked them to follow me!" she shot back at him. "One moment I was resting, and the next I was being bombarded by them! I've never seen such unruly flowers... Where is Olimar? He'll get their acts together!"

"I'm afraid to tell you that he left yesterday to visit his family," he told her, watching as a look of horror flooded her face. "He won't be back until later today."

"What?! Then how am I supposed to deal with all of these things?"

"Relax. You're overreacting. Besides," he glanced outside the door. "It seems most of them don't want to go inside."

Ivysaur followed his gaze and saw that the majority of the Pikmin were eyeing up the mansion, almost as if they were intimidated by it's size. Eventually, they lost interest and scattered, disappearing into the flowers of the garden.

Ivysaur almost let out a sigh of relief when she felt something nudge her side. That sigh quickly turned into one of annoyance when she realized some had followed her. "And what about these three?"

"Seems they're a little braver than the rest," Lucario said with a brief shrug of his shoulders. "That, or they're particularly attached to you," he added with a smirk.

"Oh, shove it, will you?"

* * *

Of course, it seemed that no matter what she did, those three Pikmin stuck to her like paint on a Smeargle's tail. There were times when she debated scaring them off or chucking them away somewhere (She had seen Olimar do it plenty of times, after all.). But no. She wasn't that kind of Pokemon. She wasn't the type to hurt anything. Well, not unless Red told her too. Then she was all for it.

So she'd be patient, she told herself. She'd be patient and they'd get bored and leave and she could finally enjoy the rest of her day in peace!

"You guys don't give up, do you?" she sighed. Two of them sat in front of her, watching her curiously. One was colored a deep, watery blue and seemed to have a mouth, unlike the others that were still stalking her.

The other was white with large, round, red eyes (That Ivysaur almost dared thought were endearing). At the end of its antennae she noticed a ball of purple petals packed tightly in a bud. She looked back to the blue one, discovering that instead of a bud, it had a green leaf. Perhaps it was a marker on how old they were?

"Hmm," She knew that she was missing one, but she took it as a sign that it finally decided to leave her alone. "Well, I suppose I can deal with you two for the time being. That one was a bit of a trouble maker," As soon as she finished saying that, she felt something slide off one of the leaves on her back and land on her head. "...Of course," She lurched forward with her head, causing the offending Pikmin to roll on the ground.

This one was red with a pointy nose and, in her mind, was absolutely infuriating. If it wasn't causing trouble here, it was causing trouble over there! It sat up, swaying back and forth dizzily. It was then she noticed that this one's bud had already bloomed into a simple white flower. Did that mean it was the oldest? It certainly didn't act like it.

She soon passed in front of a fireplace and noted that the blue and white Pikmin seemed rather unsettled by it. Maybe she could have used that fact to her advantage, but she honestly wasn't fond of fire herself.

The fire let out a crackle and the two squeaked and hid behind her legs. The red one, on the other hand seemed fascinated by it. To Ivysaur's shock, it ran over to the flames and jumped right in.

"Wh-What are you doing?!" she cried, "Do you have a death wish or something? Get back here!"

Surprise, surprise, the red Pikmin didn't listen to her. It climbed the raging mountain of firewood and stood proudly at its top, the flames rolling off its heat resistant skin.

"Ah... S-so the flames don't bother you? Whew..." Ivysaur let out breath she didn't realize she had been holding. The relief soon melted away to anger. "Still, do you have to show off like that? You're starting to remind me of Charizard! Sit in the fireplace all you want! I'm leaving!" tilting her head up haughtily, she continued on her way, the three Pikmin filing in line behind her.

As the day winded to its end, Ivysaur found herself where she had begun: in the garden. She wasn't worried about anymore Pikmin following her, it was near sunset and from what she remembered, Pikmin don't stay out past the end of the day. She laid relaxed in a patch of grass, enjoying the sunset and the orange hue it painted everything.

The little red Pikmin bit off more than he could chew playing near the pond and fell into the water. The blue one was there in an instant to bail him out. It tossed the red one onto the rocks where it proceeded to shake itself off.

"Perhaps I was wrong about you guys," Ivysaur told the white Pikmin that was sitting next to her, watching as it tilted its head at her voice. It probably couldn't understand her, but she continued anyway. "At first, I thought you were nothing more than mindless beings. I was never quite fond of Olimar either, I'll have you know. I thought he was taking advantage of the fact you couldn't think for yourselves and used you... But..." she looked up to the amber sky. "That's not true, is it? You're not mindless... You all have your own personalities. And you and Olimar... Rely on each other, don't you? He gives you guidance, food, safety, and you in return protect and help him."

The white Pikmin let out a little squeak, turning her attention back to it.

"Now that I think about it, we're a lot alike, aren't we? I rely on Red just as he relies on me, Squirtle, and Charizard. Some think we're being used by Red, or forced to fight or whatever, but that couldn't be further from the truth! We're partners, and above that, we're friends. If we didn't want to fight, Red wouldn't force us to fight. And something tells me Olimar would do the same, right?"

The little Pikmin blinked at her.

With a content sigh, she settled into her patch of grass. "Luckily, you guys don't actually get hurt or killed during brawls. Olimar was the one who insisted on that, right? It's good that he did, cause if he didn't, he'd have a hard time redeeming himself in my eyes! Hahaha!"

She must have dozed off for a few minutes, for the next time she opened her eyes, it had gotten noticeably darker.

"E-Excuse me!" she heard a meek voice say. Sleepily raising her head, she found Olimar standing in front of her, the Pikmin at attention behind him. "I heard it all from Lucario. I'm so sorry! The Pikmin tend to get a little adventurous when I'm gone, but I didn't think they'd do something like this!"

"Hmm, its fine. It turns out they weren't... That unpleasant of company," she yawned.

Olimar's shoulders slumped with relief. "Oh, good... Still, I need to figure something out. I can't have them causing trouble when I'm gone. Sorry again!" he turned to address his Pikmin. "All right, follow me you three."

Ivysaur watched with one eye open as Olimar led the Pikmin away. Before they got too far, she called out to them. "You know Olimar, I could look after them for you whenever you're gone."

The pilot stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder. "Y-You would?" he asked her, shocked at her offer.

"Of course! I always did have a special connection to flowers after all."

* * *

**And there we go! Ivysaur's probably one of the least talked about Smashers, but it was fun writing for her. I wanted to have the Red Flower Pikmin represent Charizard, while the Blue Leaf and White Bud Pikmin represented Squirtle and Ivysaur respectively.**

**If you liked this or any other chapter, it'd be really nice of you to drop a review! We'd appreciate it! Well, I'll leave to the next author now.**

**See ya later!**

**~Cheesy**


	5. Chapter 5: Smasher Mega Man

Collection of the Smash Stories: Unearthed

Chapter 5- Smasher Mega Man

**Hey everyone, Plasmatroopa here! Yes, few people who remember me and don't know me from the forums, I am still alive. I've been around, just...sticking to the forums. One of which being The Fanfics Forum, of course. I was one of the earliest members of it, and am probably the one who has written the least. Either way, I'm glad to be back, and in my first collaboration as well (well, second if we count planning, of course...).**

**The first serious (and probably first decent) work I've written right here, as you can very likely tell, is about Mega Man. Now let's get this started.**

* * *

**Mega Man**

* * *

Monstropolis destroyed. Millions killed in Trophy battle.

That was the report that led to Mega Man's mission.

Over the past few months (nearly a full year), mysterious beings known as Trophies had entered this world, though it was doubted they were all of the same species, considering how they ranged from the incredibly humanlike to the most odd entities ever discovered. They were all linked by how upon defeat, and they would transform into immobile statues that were revived by simply tapping the base. The Trophies had waged many battles across this planet. Rock had always objected to this violence, but at least the unusual beings hadn't harmed anyone...

Until they brought their battles to the streets.

Their most recent brawl had raised Monstropolis to the ground, they had that one robot being to thank, claiming millions of lives. Mega Man was fortunate enough that the home of him and his 'family' wasn't approached during the battle. Otherwise, all would have been obliterated.

Regardless, that was the final straw for Dr Light, as he had sent the Blue Bomber after them.

His mission was a simple one; find the trophies and defeat them, before bring them to authorities, someplace where they wouldn't be stolen so they could wreck havoc again. It was nothing Rock wasn't used to, since he was known for fighting off Dr. Wily every other Tuesday.

It was rather easy to find them since they apparently gone back to the wastelands. Because of the fact they didn't have the resources of the fighting robot's usual foe, it wasn't all that surprising when he found no enemies coming for him. It was almost relieving not having to worry about being ambushed by them...

On his walk through the place, he remembered something and glanced down at the data chip Dr. Light had given him. The scientist had told him it would be of great help; it apparently contained very powerful abilities, ones that the trophies wouldn't see coming...

Of course, Mega Man had no choice but to take it. Despite him not being sure he would need it, it couldn't do any harm. He quickly deactivated his helmet and began uploading the data into his head-

_**WARNING! CHALLENGER APPROACHING!**_

Crud. He must have triggered an alarm. Rock looked down, noticing four figures staring at him; a red clad plumber wearing a cap, a tall elf like creature wearing green carrying a sword and shield, a pink blob, and a large gorilla. The fighting robot decided there was no time to wait for it all to finish uploading and activated his helmet. With that, Mega Man leaped into the air and teleported down to the ground below, now prepared to fight.

Not even a second later, he ran forward, firing his buster. The swordsman approached him first, attempting to slash at him. The Blue Bomber quickly jumped up and kept firing, warding the elf off, subsequently landing and sliding under a horizontal slash, kicking his opponent in the process.

Next was the moustached man who chose to rush at him, the two running past each other before jumping into the air, Mega Man quickly shooting him down.

Then he heard a noise and turned to see the pink blob spitting a star towards him. He quickly slid under it and rushed towards his opponent, performing a rising uppercut and sending them soaring into the air.

Afterwards, the gorilla came for him, forcing the Blue Bomber to duck to avoid a punch, ending up doing it once more when the plumber threw one as well.

Thinking quickly, he called on his robotic dog Rush, who quickly activated his Rush Coil that was basically a spring, allowing him to jump off it and over the two attackers, his companion teleporting away with great speed. That being out of the way, he turned to see the plumber and gorilla, who had noticed the Blue Bomber and ran towards him. He hastily charged up a shot, and as they came close, fired it, sending them flying away from him at a rapid speed.

Mega Man thought he was doing rather well... until the swordsman jumped down and kicked him towards the plumber, who's hand was set aflame as he he punched him, knocking him directly to the pink blob, who quickly leapt up in a flying kick, sending Rock high into the air, so that the gorilla could come back to smash him down to the ground.

The Blue Bomber ran a scan hastily. For so few hits, he had taken a lot of damage, his armour visibly starting to break as he sparked. This was not good...

Download complete. Weapon data now unlocked.

At long last, it finished. Rock searched through his new files as the trophies approached him... and he was very happy with the first thing he found.

**DWN-009/Metal Man: Metal Blades**

Mega Man made a note to thank Dr Light for restoring his old weapons later.

With the download finally being completed, he stood up and pulled out two saw blades, tossing them both forward. One hit the plumber, knocking him back through the air and even causing him to drop some coins. The other flew towards the swordsman, who barely blocked it with his shield. Thinking quickly, Mega Man dug threw his weapons and activated the Crash Bomber, firing it towards the pink blob, it sticking to him. The trophy seemed confused... until it exploded and sent him flying backwards.

The plumber got up and glared, running at Mega Man and throwing a fireball at him. The Blue Bomber activated his Leaf Shield, easily blocking the fireball before throwing it back into the plumber. The gorilla was angered and jumped into the air to pound him... only for the fighting robot to leap upwards and fire the Hard Knuckle in the opposite direction, sending the ape plummeting down from the force of the metal fist. Next the plumber sprung at him, only for him to be slashed away with his Flame Sword in a hurry. The swordsman jumped next, and was quickly brought downwards by the Slash Claw.

The pink blob came for him as he landed, but Mega Man quickly switched to the Spark Shot-which had apparently gotten an upgrade, as it activated a second, hidden Mega Buster and both sprouted needles, electrocuting the fox as it got close. Finally, he grabbed the plumber and tossed him up into the air with the Super Arm's help.

Then he saw his four opponents coming down towards him, ready to attack once more. Glaring at the trophies, he found three more weapons...

**DWN-009/Air Man: Air Shooter**

**DWN-021/Top Man: Top Spin**

**DWN-043/Flame Man: Flame Blast**

He went with the last one, and boy did it get an upgrade since he last used it...

The second Mega Buster activated again, and he aimed both at the ground, releasing two large pillars of flame, dealing the final blow and sending his opponents flying away. Within seconds, they flashed a bright gold and fell to the ground as immobile statues.

Satisfied, Mega Man opened a communication line back to the lab.

"Dr Light? I've defeated four of them. I'm coming back for repairs."

"Well done, Mega Man! Send me the coordinates, and I'll have the authorities take them in"

"Will do; I'll teleport back now."

With that, Rock sent his creator the coordinates and beamed out. His job was done.

* * *

**And that's all.**

**If anyone's curious about the lack of dialogue until the end (which I doubt, but eh), it's honestly based on the contrast between Mega Man's portrayals. Those familiar with the series should know that he hates fighting and only does it for the good of humanity, and is rather close to Dr Light. In SSB4, he's more like a robot than in the main series, very rarely changing expressions and giving off a cold and calculated vibe-to me, anyways. Felt it would be neat to include the contrast, but I probably screwed that over.**

**Anyways, hoping you look forward to the next chapter, where of course, somebody else will be writing, and it would be appreciated if you were to check out the other authors in this project and drop by their stories. Also drop a review for this story, it really helps. And with that little message done...**

**This is Plasmatroopa, logging out.**


	6. Chapter 6: Smasher Charizard

Collection of the Smash Stories: Unearthed

Chapter 6 - Smasher Charizard

**Hello. I'm Cries-at-the-Sky, and I'm a relatively new writer. My only SSB story, The Great Maze, got me invited into this collaboration, of which I'm more than pleased about. Everyone in this collab is an amazing author, and I encourage you to check out their stories, and mine as well. Writing this oneshot has been a blast, probably because Charizard is my favorite character to play in the games. I mean, where else can you play as a dragon?**

**So, happy reading.**

* * *

**Charizard**

* * *

_"You're leaving?!"_

Charizard growled this accusation in Poke-Speak, but to his trainer, Red, it only sounded like "Charizard?!" This would sound a bit comical, but Red was used to his Pokemon, and he could even understand them a little, through an odd sort of empathy.

"Yeah. Sorry, but I think one tournament is enough for me. I'm a traveler, you know?"

_"But..."_

"Come on, we've been together since, well, a long time now. And I have the feeling you even knew this would happen."

Of course, Charizard had always known. Red was not only his trainer, but his best friend as well. They both knew each other inside and out, even though they could not talk to each other. So, when Red got an offer to join a huge fighting tournament spanning several dimensions, he didn't even have to ask Charizard to know that the dragon wanted to take part. Despite his laziness, Charizard loved fighting, no matter what the cause. But, Red was a drifter, and he had always been one. Charizard had always accepted this, but this time, he could not. The Super Smash Brothers Brawl tournament was the best thing that had ever happened to him. His loyal trainer backing him up, he would take down the toughest and meanest of foes, and there were no rules. At first, he was uncertain about fighting humans, as such a thing was expressly forbidden on his world, but, on Red's encouragement, he did so anyways. They had proved to be formidable opponents, but of course, Charizard thought with smug superiority, they were no match for a dragon.

When the Fourth Super Smash Brothers tournament was unveiled, Charizard practically leaped at the thought of it, but Red's announcement that he was leaving the roster left the Flame Pokemon reeling in shock. With hurt betrayal, he stomped the ground and let loose a great plume of fire into the sky, roaring.

_"I cannot accept this! You have ordered me around long enough, but enough is enough!"_

With this, he flew over to Red's bag, lying on the ground some distance from him, and snatched his own Pokeball. Then, he looked back at the rest of his team. Ivysaur was wordlessly pleading with him, her eyes glazing over with tears. Squirtle was looking away with aloof disinterest, but Charizard knew that he too did not want him to leave. He could not bear to look at Red directly, so he simply turned around and flew into the starless night. Red's campsite became noticeably darker.

* * *

He returned to his favorite site in the World of Trophies, the huge rock incongruously sticking out of the ground, with a waterfall flowing down one side. There was a cave behind the waterfall, and it could be flown into, as long as Charizard was careful. Normally, waterfalls were anathema to his species, but they did make for a good hiding place when he wanted to be alone. The other Charizard had never expected he would ever hide behind a waterfall, of all things. He knew this no longer applied here, with him being the only Charizard, but the idea remained. He wanted to be alone.

Alone. The concept was a foreign one to Charizard, as he scruffled up some dirt, to make the floor more comfortable. For as long as he had known, Red had been his trainer. The two of them had been bonded since shortly after he had become of age, as a Charmander. He was allowed to roam the wilds of his land, and Red had appeared before him. This was the first human the Flame Pokemon had ever seen, so he stood there in awe, while Red sent out his Pikachu. He asked whether he wanted to battle, and Charmander, out of curiosity, had accepted with a mute nod. He was soundly thrashed by Pikachu, showing that trained Pokemon were indeed superior. Ever since then, Red had become his trainer, partner, and friend.

The only time he had ever been alone, was when he was sent to live with the other Charizard for intensive training. Even then, he had others of his species. This time, he was alone. After his outburst, which he knew Red got the gist of, he felt Red would not accept him back. With a flame-infused snort, he shook his head. He didn't want to go back to him, anyways. No doubt he was already packing up to leave.

He let his thoughts run around each other, until he finally fell asleep.

* * *

A blast of water from the entrance woke him up. Fortunately, he was too deep into the cave to be affected, but he cautiously peered around the corner, and saw none other than Squirtle at the entrance, not even bothering to shake himself off, before they met eyes. Squirtle grinned.

_"Yo! Should have known you'd be here, Flamey."_

_"Squirtle! What are you doing here? Is Red nearby?"_

_"Nah, we ran off."_

_"We? So Ivysaur's here too?"_

_"She's coming, she chose to take the long way around."_

_"Look, you don't need to worry about me. I'm my own Pokemon now."_

_"We're not worrying, we just came to say... "_

Another blast, this time accompanied by a solid vine latching itself to the roof, and a green dinosaur bursting through the waterfall and rolling on the ground. She looked up, and beamed at the sight of the dragon.

_"Charizard! Oh, it is you! We've been searching all over!"_ Ivysaur ran over to Charizard and nuzzled him, a friendly gesture made even more powerful by the fact that he was a Fire type. For a Grass type to be this close to a Fire type was a strong gesture of trust.

_"It hasn't even been that long, Ivy."_ Squirtle groaned. With a Vine Whip to the forehead, Squirtle shut up. Ivysaur continued.

_"What are you thinking, Charizard?"_

_"I'm telling you, I can take care of myself!"_ Charizard growled, and stomped the ground again.

_"That's not what I mean. How could you leave without saying goodbye?"_

_"Huh?"_

_"Red's been your partner for a long time, Charizard. At least give him a proper farewell."_

_"So... you're okay with me leaving?"_

_"Yup!"_ Squirtle grinned again. _"We wanted to wish you good luck!"_

_"You're okay with me fighting in this new tournament too?"_

Ivysaur interjected here. _"Yep! As a matter of fact, Red is on his way up."_

_"Ivy!" _Squirtle exclaimed._ "I thought Red wasn't coming."_

_"Ehehe," _Ivysaur laughed sheepishly._ "I had to, ahem, convince him to swallow his pride and come see Charizard."_

Charizard slumped to the ground in defeat then. So, Red was coming. He would have to face his partner and directly tell him that he would be leaving. This time, of his own free will. His large draconic heart was beating faster now. Funny, he wasn't normally this nervous even before a big fight. As Ivysaur and Squirtle began scuffling in the corner over what was no doubt a petty argument, Charizard kept his gaze locked onto the narrow ledge leading from the ground into the cave.

Then, a hand gripped the wall, and Red appeared. He had a grin on his face, like they didn't even fight some number of hours ago. Charizard met his eyes, then quickly looked away in shame.

Red spoke. "Hey. You flew off."

_"I... I'm sorry. But I'm not sorry about joining this tournament. I am an individual, strong, and-"_

"I know, I know. I just came to say good luck, and to do one last thing for you."

_"Huh?"_

"Mind giving me your Pokeball? I'm going to release you."

_"Say whaaaa?"_ Charizard kept his jaw hanging open in shock. But Ivysaur was way ahead of the two of them. A vine creeped over, and deposited an unassuming Pokeball. Red picked it up, and spoke again.

"Thanks, Ivysaur. Okay, just a few pokes here, and there, then my fingerprint, and done!"

The red light on the button disappeared, and the Pokeball, which was Charizard's home ever since he and Red met, cracked into two halves, and became useless. At first, Charizard thought he would be happy to be on his own, but with this final action, he found himself sorely regretting it.

_"Red... why?"_

"Don't give me that. You are your own Pokemon now. I've trained you for as long as I could, but... well, I can't train you anymore."

Hot, draconic, tears welled up in Charizard's eyes.

"That is, you're too strong. There's nothing more I can teach you. So from now on, we are no longer Trainer and Pokemon, but friends. So... go on and fight! Win it all! For us. We will be here, cheering you on."

_"Red... I-!"_

Charizard found himself choked up, so he resorted to a gesture, one that he hadn't used ever since evolving. He gave Red a hug. He kept it brief, out of fear of burning Red with his flame-infused body, but Red didn't seem to mind at all. He simply smiled, then he looked outside.

"The sun's rising. I better get going. Well, looks like this is goodbye."

_"Red, you're the best friend I ever had! And... goodbye!"_

"To borrow my rival's favorite phrase, smell ya later!"

This gave Charizard a chortle, even as tears were dripping down his face. Ivysaur and Squirtle came to him, and delivered their farewells.

Ivysaur spoke first. _"Charizard... Good luck. Really. And... goodbye. You were a great teammate, and a great friend. I'll miss you."_

_"Yeah, yeah. Hey, Flamey! Kick some ass, alright?! And catch you later."_

"Goodbye, you two. You were great friends. More than I could have ever asked for."

They, alongside Red, left, using the narrow ledge. He found his regret disappearing, replaced by a burning desire to show Red what he can do on his own, with nobody ordering him. Charizard, filled with a sudden burst of passion, flew straight through the waterfall, his tail flame burning stronger than ever. The waterfall didn't even faze him, such was the intensity of his passion. He let loose a mighty roar, and flew off into the sunset.

He would win it all. For all the Charizards back home who scoffed at his being a trained Pokemon. For Squirtle, and for Ivysaur. And... for Red.

* * *

**As you may have been able to tell, this takes place in between SSBB and SSB4, to follow up on the unconfirmed assumption that Charizard will be on his lonesome now. So, it might be tossed by the later addition of Ivysaur and Squirtle to the SSB4 roster. To be honest, I would only be happier if that happened, as I get to continue playing as them. Review, review, review!**

**~Cries-at-the-Sky**


	7. Chapter 7: Smasher Marth

Collection of the Smash Stories: Unearthed

Chapter 7- Smasher Marth

_**Tune4Toons: Ah, it feels good to be writing again. Does anyone even still recognize me anymore lol? Q^Q Pardon this lazy dunce who came out of a sudden, long hiatus (who's also gonna actually graduating high school soon haha).**_

_**Welcome to this Collection of Smash Stories from a quieter part of The Fanfics Forum. Small personal snippet: I love doing collabs! So I heard from KF and figured it's been a while, so why not? I started in my first story in 2011, and though it's not here anymore, SSB has always been where my roots take place.**_

_**Anyways, enjoy~**_

* * *

**Marth**

* * *

He shouldn't be hiding behind a tree.

Really, the cloak looked too obvious.

Either a ray of sun would give away the silver circlet under his hood or one of the children's voices across the grass field would call him out, but he remained silent. The earth beneath his boots told him to stay. The light breeze whispered to remain hidden for a while longer.

At the edge of the grass field sat the Great Fox, metal hull digging a crater in the dirt. Surrounding it were shadows of the past chattering about, old faces he had yet to greet because he hadn't grasped the right words to say.

"Welcome back, Marth."

Marth jumped, hand grabbing his Falchion on instinct. A second later, he relaxed as he glanced up and spotted a caped bat on a tree branch.

Or rather, a masked Meta Knight looming over him.

Marth chuckled, relaxing his grip as he took off his hood. "Had I not known better, that branch would've been struck down."

He couldn't tell from under the mask, but Meta Knight must've been smirking the whole time. "So certain so soon?"

The knight may be two feet tall, but Marth knew better; the two faced off in the finals together after all. Their duel ended in sweat, chipped blades, and a victory crown atop Meta Knight's head. Marth could still smell the beer, hear the roars of excitement coming from his comrades, and the pats on his back congratulating him for a great fight. He sighed. It'd been four years since then. Fast forward, and here he was, well aware not every friend he made that time would return again this year.

"Glad it's you, friend." Marth turned back to watch the kids chase each other along the grass. "Anyone else and they'll cause too big a commotion." A pause. "Prepared for the tournament yet?"

No answer.

Instead, his ears caught a sword unsheathing. He turned his head only to see Meta Knight leap off the branch. Marth smiled, whipping out his sword in time to block an incoming blade plummeting down on his head.

A resounding clang pushed Marth back against the tree.

"One and a half seconds," Meta Knight said. "You've slowed."

Marth chuckled. "So have you."

Meta Knight held pressure against Marth's sword. He then flipped backwards and landed on the grass effortlessly. However, Meta Knight kept his sword up. _We've only started_, his stance spoke in turn. "Good to see you haven't lost your fight."

Marth directed his Falchion down at Meta Knight. No words. Only soldiers' grunts, metals' gleams under the sun, and breezes' whispers taunting them both to make the first strike. _Go on_, they said. _He's right there. Lure him out_.

By now, the voices across the field quieted down. Stealing a quick glance to his right, Marth spotted the crowd grow from a few kids to familiar veterans standing behind them to watch his standoff. There was Fox grinning like the sly fox he was. Samus in her proud stance—wonder what she was thinking. Mario and his brother, Link and his princess, a jumpy Sonic, some others he didn't recognise.

"Don't lose focus now." Meta Knight leapt up, slashing his sword forward. Marth side-stepped. Dodged. Another strike forward, Marth blocked the incoming blade and shoved it backward. Meta Knight swung once again, a barrage of slashes one after another pushing Marth across the field as he tried to block them all. Clangs sparked the air. Though once Marth planted his feet to stop his advances, Meta Knight twisted around where their swords both met and butted his handle against Marth's back, forcing Marth to stumble forward into the ground.

Meta Knight grunted. "Done?"

"Not yet." Marth quickly kicked off the dirt and swung Falchion behind him, prompting Meta Knight to push back in time to dodge.

By now, the spectators that gathered thirty feet away started hooting and cheering. Marth took a breath in and closed his eyes. There he was again in the stadium, where lights shone above and surrounding crowds roared his name as he claimed the stage.

Blink and he dashed forward, bringing an uppercut from under Meta Knight. He tried to block it, but Marth brought his sword down and up again, rapid successions pushing Meta Knight back the way he did him.

Marth smiled as sweat dropped. He hadn't experienced energy in his veins since the last tournament. Four years of peace, silence, and paperwork couldn't make up for the adrenaline he had now.

But Meta Knight still had a trump left. He ducked under Marth's last swing and thrust his sword forward. Marth side-stepped, but the sword ripped through his cloak as Meta Knight twisted the cloth around his blade. Meta Knight then pulled him forward, pulled his blade out, and directed it inches from Marth's neck.

Marth chuckled. "Look up." And Meta Knight did. Marth held hard on Falchion's handle, blade tip pointing down between Meta Knight's eyes.

The battle ended as a draw. Both warriors stepped back.

Meta Knight grunted in approval. "Not bad."

Marth sighed, twisting his wrist as he slid Falchion back in its sheath. "Still no match for a champion such as yourself. Do you always greet comrades with a match?"

He only received a laugh from Meta Knight, a rare occurrence in his experience. "Just wanted to keep you in shape. Still a worthy adversary nonetheless. Welcome back."

From the chattering crowd across the field, Marth spotted Pit waving as he ran toward the two of them, others soon following. There was Donkey Kong bellowing, Pikachu squeaking, Bowser grumbling, and Peach giggling. Old memories returned despite missing voices like Falco smug remarks, Ganondorf's sneers, and even his fellow swordsman Ike's laughs. They would be back soon though, he bet. Only a matter of when and where.

But he nodded. Gave a smile to the wind and a quick eye at new faces he had yet to greet.

"It's good to be back."

The games only just begun.

* * *

_**Tune4Toons: Wow. So behind on SSB news, had to double check who was coming back. (Thank you KF for the note haha!) I figured I'd take a break on angst and try an action piece for the first time in a while before**__** I return back to a little hiatus. **_

_**Concrits, critiques, the like is always appreciated. Be sure to check out everyone else's works as well! Stay tuned for more one shots to come.**_

_**Cheers!**_


	8. Chapter 8: Smasher Young Link

Collection of the Smash Stories: Unearthed

Chapter 8- Smasher Young Link

**Hey! Mightygamer64 here! I know, it's been a really long while since I wrote something here but I'm still alive! I was reading and reviewing though! So, I heard about the collab and I told myself "Why not? It wouldn't be bad to get back in SSB!"**

**So here I am writing this one-shot!**

**Be sure to leave a review, it always help us and enjoy!**

* * *

**Young Link**

* * *

Deep in Hyrule, there was a forest. A forest where never-growing up children played all day. Sunny, rainy, hot or cold, whatever temperature it was outside, the children remained cheerful and kept playing outside.

The sun gently shone over the trees, making the leaves turn into a bright green color. Pushed forward by the hot wind, the fairies flew with some Kokiris who were making a race. Their laughs could be heard in the tunnels leading in the lost woods, where some curious skullkids poked their heads out, in the forest. The children invited the creatures to play with them. The boys took out their Ocarinas (flutes for the skullkids) while the girls danced by the rhythm of the cheerful melody. Hearing said melody, the Kokiris who weren't already outside stepped out of their treehouses to join the party.

All but one.

A blonde boy looked at the others, his sky blue eyes looking at each and every child. He sighed, letting out all of his melancholy in one release of air. He loved this forest; the Kokiris were his family, but he felt like something was missing; something that even his family could not give back. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on something else than the emptiness in his mind. He concentrated on the music, the laughs and the great smell of the woods. Although he tried to smile, it didn't work; his lips didn't want to make any curves. After a couple more tries, he gave up and opened his eyes again. He looked at the children outside, wanting to join the party. Though, he knew he wouldn't be happier and he didn't want to break the great ambiance. His eyes got stuck on a Skullkid who was playing a flute while his mind wondered off somewhere else. He envied their joy; he wished he could be happy too right now. Master Hand's words still echoed in his mind.

_You made your time here, Young Link._

He remembered when he had to prepare to go back home. His friends came to say goodbye. They promised to keep contact and said it wasn't that bad, that he'd surely come back next time.

The last day before he would be transported back home, he met some of the numerous newcomers for the Brawl tournament. He also met his replacement. People named him Toon Link. The nickname fitted; he did look a bit like a cartoon after all. He was nice and polite too. But when Toony learned he was Young Link's replacement, he changed a bit. The polite smiles became mocking smirks. The Hylian didn't mind that much at first but it became annoying soon afterwards. It wasn't so bad anyway since he was going home this evening, which came rather fast, and the last goodbyes were said before he was sent home at the Kokiri forest.

The children gave him a warm welcome. The first days were quite cheerful; in fact, he forgot a bit about the Smash tournament until a letter from the mansion arrived. Nostalgia washed over him for a moment. However, after he read the letter, he just smiled and wrote back to answer it. Young Link received the letters regularly, approximately twice a month. They kept contact for three months before the letters disappeared. The hylian sent one after a month without any news but he never received an answer to it.

He knew now that he wasn't coming back. He knew that everyone preferred Toon Link. He knew he was doomed to be forgotten by everyone now. Master hand was right; he made his time.

He backed away from the window. Oh well, if he was meant to be forgotten there was only one thing left to do. Forget about the tournament himself. Young Link walked to a box under his bed and pulled it out. He took out the letters and read them one last time. He then held the small pile, grabbing the top with both of his index fingers and his thumbs.

_1... 2... 3._

The hylian pulled his hands away from each other and the sheets made a quiet rip. He put the two halves together and ripped them again.

_You made your time, Young Link._

He continued tearing the sheets and put the bits left in the box that he pushed far under his bed, enough to touch the wall of his treehouse. He made a heavy sigh and looked away from his bed.

_You made you time, Young Link._

He walked to the door and pushed away curtain that was actually the door leading in and out of his own place. He closed his eyes and focused on the music playing outside. The laughs came to his ears, the notes echoed in his mind.

_You made your ti-_

He opened his eyes, a big and wide smile appearing on his face. He climbed down the ladder, took out his Ocarina and ran with the other children. The Hylian started playing the happy melody with the others. Like the smashers, he'd moved on, not really caring now if Toony stayed. Good for him. He didn't care because he was with his true family now: the Kokiris.


	9. Chapter 9: Smasher Little Mac

Collection of the Smash Stories: Unearthed

Chapter 9- Smasher Little Mac

_**'Sup everyone! This is Gnat1, or Gnat (whichever you prefer), and here's my chapter on Little Mac!**_

_**Not sure if any of you remember me, I was somewhat well-known in the Smash Bros and Sonic archives, but it's been over a year since I've written anything :/**_

_**But man, it feels freaking AWESOME to be writing again! Gotta say that it's an honor to be part of this way-past-cool collab event. This really gave me a bit of a chance at making a comeback to my writing, so I'll be doing my best to make sure that my part in it comes out great :D**_

_**Anyway, about Little Mac:**_

_**...Honestly, this character doesn't have much of a story. He's super-short, he wears green gloves, he's got a coach named Doc Louis, and he's all-out badapples when it comes to boxing. That's about it, really, besides the fact that he's faced off against Donkey Kong in the ring. You see, the style of "Punch Out!" is more arcade-like than any other first-party Nintendo title I've seen, so a deep story has never been the main priority with this series. I myself haven't played a "Punch Out!" title, but I've seen a couple playthroughs and did some research, and I believe I can pull this one off.**_

_**That said, let's get into it!**_

* * *

**Little Mac**

* * *

...

"...That's him?"

"Mmhm."

Three figures stood on the steel roof, looking down above the rest of the stadium. The night sky surrounded them, keeping them unseen from the hundreds of lights decking the inside of the large building. The stadium they looked down on was filled with all kinds of people, be it clean cut, rough, calm, or excited beyond belief. Large, sweaty fighters wearing boxing gloves stood around the protective rope fencing of the central ring, eagerly waiting for the final match competitors to be announced. Lights flashed all around as loud music, mixed with cheers from excited fans, filled the stadium. This wasn't a Smash Tournament, by any means. This was the stadium that the professional boxing or MMA champions squared off in. The type of stadium that live television programs streamed onto various channels. While it's fighters weren't nearly worth that of a Smasher, this stadium was, without a doubt, meant for champions. Two of the figures watching from the stadium's roof were in a conversation concerning one of the competitors... one that was significantly smaller than every other fighter present in the room.

"...Wow."

"What's with the tone, Snake?"

"Nothing... just, he seems a bit too... I don't know..."

Snake scratched the back of his head, trying to figure out how to put it. He didn't want to say it in a way that sounded too offensive.

"...Short?" Samus asked, finishing for him as she watched the multitude of fighters prepare themselves.

"Yeah. Short."

"Hey, let's not judge by size. We're here to recruit him, not criticize him." Ike said, appearing behind the two and placing his hands on Samus and Snake's shoulders, in which they both elbowed off immediately.

Snake sighed. "You're right, but I mean, this guys's like a midget compared to everyone else in the stadium. Does he even have a chance?"

Ike frowned. "...Well, no one ever says that about Mario or Sonic, do they? They've proven to be some of the most powerful opponents I've faced. You'll have to trust me when I say that size doesn't matter when it comes to fighting."

"Oh, it had a pretty big factor when I fought the Metal Gear REX." Snake replied boredly. "And besides, Mario has various powers, and Sonic surpasses the speed of sound. What does this guy do? Punch stuff? Seems like anyone can do that."

At this, Ike took a moment to consider Snake's statement. Master Hand had mentioned that this "Little Mac" was an amazing fighter, but what was it about him that made him stand out? Every other Smasher had unique abilities that were exclusive to them, and only them. But as Snake had just said, what was it about this short boxer that made him so significant? To any normal person, he just looked like your average, ordinary ring fighter that happened to be undersized.

"...Master Hand had me observe his training. Trust me, he's far more effective than he looks." Samus said, not bothering to face Ike or Snake.

"He made you watch a guy that's barely over four feet tall? I get that he's come out at the top in a multitude championships, but that's not enough to be qualified as a Smasher. What did he do that made him stand out to the Hands?" Snake asked, pulling out a lighter and readying a cigarette.

Before Samus could answer, Ike interrupted with another question. "What information do you have on him?"As he asked, he watched the young fighter start serving several hard hits onto a punching bag hanging off the side of the ring. He seemed powerful, but was it enough to make it into the tournament?

Samus pulled out a small tablet with a Smash Ball marking etched across it's back. A bio appeared on the screen, and she began reading off the given information.

"He goes by Little Mac. Seventeen years old, comes from Bronx, New York. He's won several heavyweight championships, despite only weighing 107 pounds."

"107 pounds?" Snake exclaimed before Samus could finish. "Doesn't that fall below the heavyweight qualifications?"

Ike scratched his head. "Well, I can't say that isn't breaking any rules... maybe they made an exception?"

"An exception? For this guy?" Snake asked, glancing back down towards the small boxer known as Little Mac. "Look, I don't want to sound rude, but it seems to me they'd throw him out just after looking at 'em."

Samus ignored their conversation, and continued reading. "His coach is Jerome Louis, a former world heavyweight champion. It says he wasn't a hired coach or anything... in fact, it says they met purely by chance. He's won several tournaments across the world... seems to have a lot of fans. That's really all we got on him. Master Hand didn't give much detail..."

"He never gives good detail. Remember when I was recruited? The description he gave all of you made it sound like I was that Sam Fisher guy." Snake replied, watching Little Mac make final preparations before the oncoming match.

"Well, it's not like your jobs are completely different." Ike replied with a slight grin. "I mean, some of the stuff you do is exactly the same. Can't really blame Master Hand for that."

"You both might want to start paying attention." Samus said, interrupting their conversation as her visor went up, revealing her blue eyes. She crossed her arms and looked down at the ring as the announcer stepped out in it's center.

The announcer gave a large smile as he raised the microphone. "...WHO'S READY FOR THE FINAL MATCH?" he shouted. The audience erupted with excitement in response. The announcer chuckled. "Good, because you're all gonna love this one! Next up, we have the final round! The young prodigy and the tropical chief! Ladies and Gents, it's... LITTLE MAC VS. KING HIPPO!"

Loud cheers exploded across the stadium mixed with muffled clapping and whistling. It was evident that the two oncoming competitors had a positive effect on the audience. The smaller fighter stood up as a middle-aged man began speaking to him. On the other side of the ring, an incredibly large, obese man stood up and beat his chest. He wore a silver crown and had black markings around his eyes. A large set of bandages made an X across the center of his gigantic, blubbery stomach. He was huge, so large to a point that the entire stadium shook as he stepped into the ring.

"Holy..." Snake muttered, eyes widening slightly upon seeing Little Mac's opponent.

Ike blinked. "...There's no way he'll be able to survive this..."

"We'll have to see for ourselves. If he's not victorious, we'll tell Master Hand that he overestimated the kid." Samus said, as the three of them sat back in small chairs to observe the fight. Samus sighed and waited for the match to begin.

Now was Little Mac's chance to prove himself.

* * *

King Hippo stood on his end of the ring and gave a loud, deep laugh. He was intent on winning this match as he pounded his large stomach vigorously. He glanced down at Little Mac, who had yet to enter the ring, and smirked.

"As of now, the both of you are even. He's beaten you once, you've beaten him once. Let's settle that score, right here, right now!" Little Mac's coach, Doc Louis, said as the young fighter took a quick drink of water. "Now this sucka's defense is tough, Mac. Make him shut his wide open mouth."

"Got it, Doc." Little Mac replied with a grin, as he energetically hopped up onto the edge of the ring.

"Hey, kid, try to serve him up a nice big platter of star punches!" Doc Louis said from the side of the ring. "Make him never want to eat again!"

Little Mac nodded with a smile, before ducking under the elastic rope fencing and giving a quick wave to the audience. King Hippo walked forward, loud thumps booming with each step, causing a miniature earthquake across the ring. He and Mac stood face to face (or waist to face, considering the height) as the Referee began going over the rules with them. Little Mac glanced up at his giant adversary. King Hippo, in return, glanced down at him with an unnerving grin. Little Mac took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and went through everything in his head. He focused on remembering Hippo's move set and tactics. He had a unique style that Little Mac knew all too well. He kept his eyes shut and slowly went over his memories of this opponent.

_He's strong, but slow._

_He'll try to pound me in, but I won't let that happen._

_I can't let that happen._

_I'm faster than he is... I can dodge what he throws at me._

_If I'm hit, he could knock me out within seconds..._

_Need to stay clear... _

_...Need to focus..._

_...I've got it under control..._

_...I can out maneuver him..._

_...I can win._

"...Are we clear, gentlemen?"

Little Mac opened his eyes, and looked at the Ref. He gave a quick nod to show that he understood. King Hippo did the same.

"Good. Let's begin." the Ref said in response, walking off to the side of the ring. Little Mac looked up at King Hippo and stuck his hands out for a fist bump. In response, King Hippo glanced down and gave nothing more than a low growl, before turning and walking back towards his corner of the ring. Mac blinked and stepped back, readying himself. He clenched his fists inside his bright, green gloves, and eagerly anticipated the bell. King Hippo cracked his neck to the side and pounded his fists together. They both made eye contact as the welcoming sound of the bell broke in.

**[Music Playing: "Seasons", by DragonForce ( watch?v=ZaZCQiLBXn4)]**

_DING DING!_

Little Mac stepped forwards, fists guarding his face. He could feel King Hippo step forward, shaking the entirety of the ring, and tower over him. His breath shot down like a harsh, hot breeze of wind. A deep, ape-like growl sounded as Mac heard the wind whistling off of King Hippo's fist.

He knew what was coming next.

_WHOOSH!_

With a quick sidestep, Little Mac managed to dodge Hippo's first attack. His large opponent roared in frustration at Mac's speed and spun around to deliver a roundhouse punch. Little Mac ducked under and glanced at his opponent, grinning when he found the obvious weak spot.

_SLAM!_

"PUT UP A FIGHT, YOU LITTLE STINKER!" King Hippo roared as the ring shook under his fists. Mac had just made a narrow escape from the large fighter's double fist pound. Little Mac, in response, shot forwards while Hippo's fists were still down, and delivered a front punch to the set of bandages placed on his opponent's stomach, sticking out like a giant, white target.

"AGH! GRRRRAAAGH!" King Hippo exclaimed as he grabbed at his belly and leaned forwards. His crown fell off and rolled off the side of the ring. While he was hunched over, Little Mac delivered a series of punches to Hippo's head. As he did, King Hippo suddenly jumped up and swung his arm around, causing Little Mac to go sprawling off to the side. Little Mac recovered quickly and held his fists up in defense as another heavy hit rained down from King Hippo. Little Mac stumbled back slightly, the strike dizzying him. He shook himself out of it and quickly sidestepped a front punch from his opponent.

Little Mac gritted his teeth. King Hippo was insanely strong, but moved fairly slow. As the towering giant began to draw his fist back, Mac managed to deliver a swift jab to the side of his head. This dazed King Hippo for only about a second, but it allowed Little Mac to have enough time to ready himself for the next attack. Hippo growled furiously, turning towards Mac and raising both arms, before swinging them around in order to crush Mac's head between his fists. Little Mac swiftly lowered himself as the arms crossed over his head. He had a few advantages of being small. He then jumped up between King Hippo's chest and his now-crossed arms, shoving his fist up and smashing an uppercut under his opponent's chin.

"HAHA! Yeah baby! That's how you do it, son!" Doc Louis cheered from the side of the ring. This seemed to taunt King Hippo, who let out a furious roar after a quick moment of daze. He charged forwards, swinging his fists in every direction. If the Ref got involved at this point, he could be slammed down by the angry colossus. Little Mac was doing everything he could to manage to stay clear of the blurred, heavy arms flying at him in every direction. In between the dodges, he shot another jab into King Hippo's belly, causing a small grunt from the giant. At this point, King Hippo's entire head was red with rage. With one last roar, he pounded Little Mac in the side of the head before he had time to guard himself, sending him down instantly.

_"1..."_

Little Mac's eyes cracked open. The audience's noise was blurred with that of the Ref's counting down.

_"...2..."_

The lights of the stadium disoriented his vision. He glimpsed King Hippo giving a triumphant wave to the audience.

_"...3...4...5..."_

"You can do it, kid! Come on, we still got a chance! Show 'em that you ain't going down!" came the voice of Doc Louis. He knew Little Mac was tougher than he looked, and he had absolute faith that the teen was going to make it out fine. Little Mac had proven to him time and time again that he could take hundreds of hits and still make it out victorious. He was going to get back up... he $ had $ to get back up.

_"...6...7..."_

Little Mac shook himself out of the daze and shakily pushed himself up. It felt like his entire body was on fire. He grunted as he stumbled to his feet and readied himself. King Hippo turned around, a look of surprise on his face at seeing Little Mac ready for another fight.

Taking a step back, King Hippo put up his fists. If the kid wanted another beat down, then so be it.

Little Mac managed a small grin as King Hippo approached. before he could do anything, Little Mac lunged forward with a swift punch to Hippo's face. King Hippo, in response, swung around, but his attack was swiftly sidestepped, and he received two more jabs to the face. King Hippo, with another deep growl, shot a fist forward and hit Little Mac full-on in the chest. At the same time, Little Mac jumped back. Hippo's punch sent him back faster. With this gain of speed, he was launched backwards and into the rope fencing. Little Mac grinned as he felt the ropes get stretched back at receiving his weight. The three hits he had previously taken to Hippo's face had earned him three stars; enough for a full-on star punch. As the ropes reached their stretching limit, Little Mac readied his right arm.

_SHWOOOM!_

The ropes launched Little Mac forwards like a human slingshot. He shot his right arm out as he was fired through the air. As soon as he was in hitting distance of the surprised King Hippo, he thundered his right fist forward. For a split second, a large star lighted up around Little Mac, as he brought his fist into King Hippo's head.

_**SLAM!**_

Little Mac stood up back in the ring and looked up at King Hippo. Hippo didn't even look down at his small opponent, and instead stumbled back in a half-conscious daze. He continued to clumsily move backwards, tripping over his own feet. He then tripped over the elastic ropes and fell off the side of the ring. A loud thud sounded, followed by the stadium shaking violently as King Hippo hit the floor. A countdown followed, and when King Hippo didn't get up, everyone knew the match was over.

Loud cheers sounded, booming throughout the stadium. Little Mac took a moment to catch his breath, but it was soon lost when a large hand slammed into his backside.

"Alright baby! The champ's back! The champ is BACK!" Doc Louis exclaimed with a hearty laugh as he patted Mac roughly on the back. He lifted Little Mac up and set him on his right shoulder as Little Mac waved to the audience, giving a big smile despite being thrown around in the ring to the point where he felt sick.

**[ Music Stops ]**

* * *

"...And THAT' S why Master Hand wanted us to recruit him." Samus said as she and her companions watched the victory from afar.

"...He's got guts. That's a fact." Snake remarked as he watched Little Mac disappear into the cheering crowds. He smiled slightly at the thought of the kid being able to take down a huge brute such as the one they had just seen. And to think that he was ready to leave just after looking at the short boxing champion.

"How do you suggest we bring him in?" Ike asked.

"Simple. We speak to him and his coach as soon as they're out of this place." Samus replied.

"Right. Then let's get to it, then." Snake replied, walking off and disappearing over the side of the stadium's roof. Samus put her visor down and watched Ike leap over the edge without a thought. She shook her head and followed shortly after.

* * *

A knock sounded on the door to the training gym. Doc Louis looked up from the vending machine he was trying to get a candy bar from, an eyebrow lifted. Who would be coming to the training gym this late at night? He and Little Mac had just stopped by to pick up some of the gear they had left. Why would someone else be here?

"I got it!" Little Mac said, jumping up from where he had been sitting. Despite the tiredness he had earned from the final tournament matches and the victory celebration afterwards, he seemed to still be in a cheerful mood. He walked over to the door and grabbed it's partially-rusted doorknob, before opening it slowly.

What met him on the other side was a rough-looking man sporting a headband and a mullet. He was decked out in army and survival gear. The wind ruffled through his hair as he lowered his eyes slowly and looked down at Little Mac.

"I'm assuming you're Tiny Tim?" the gruff man asked.

"Uh... it's Little Mac, if that's what you mean." Mac replied, unsure what to make of the completely random soldier that appeared on the doorstep.

"Good. We've been looking for you." the man replied, inviting himself in and brushing past Little Mac.

Little Mac blinked. "That's... um, mind if I ask why?" he asked. The situation became awkward a bit too quickly for him.

"Hello, friend!" a swordsman with blue hair greeted, walking in behind Mac and merrily patting the teen's shoulder. What looked to be a red and gold android followed in after, silently walking behind the swordsman.

"...Hi..." Little Mac replied, at this point, he was completely dumbfounded. Had he seen these three somewhere before?

"Hey Mac, didja want to take this stuff back to-" Doc Louis started as he walked out to where the others were, carrying a bag of training equipment. He then noticed the three guests. For a moment, his eyes were widened slightly, before he blinked and cleared his throat.

"Hey there! We usually don't have nobody poking in at this time. Is there... anything I could help you with?"

"Yes, actually!" the swordsman piped up. He seemed to be the friendliest of the three, without a doubt. "How often do you have your young friend here enter tournaments?"

The soldier-styled man facepalmed.

"Er... well, we're almost always involved in smaller fighting tournaments, but we only get involved in the bigger ones every now and then." Doc Louis replied, scratching his head. "Uh, I'm Doc Louis, by the way. Who are you all?"

"Oh, right, forgot to introduce ourselves, sorry." the swordsman replied, scratching the back of his neck. "I'm Ike, and this is Samus Aran and Solid Snake." he said, motioning to the android (or what appeared to be an android) and the soldier.

"Solid Snake? Wait, aren't you-?" Little Mac started.

"Yes." Snake replied shortly.

"Oh man! Dude! So you're like, that guy that was in the huge fighting tournament with the guns and the helicopter and the grenades and all that other stuff?" Little Mac asked excitedly. He then looked over at Samus. "And you're that guy with the exosuit that almost won the entire tournament last year!"

"Yes, it's them." Ike said, trying not to snicker over the fact that Mac thought Samus was a guy. "But to the point, we came to ask if-"

"And you're Ike! You were awesome! You carried the huge sword and were able to fight off Mario and that angel person with just one hit!" Little Mac continued. Snake sighed. These kind of reactions were common when someone discovered that they were part of the Smash Brothers.

"Mac, calm down, okay son?" Doc Louis said to the thrilled boxer.

"R-right! Sorry Doc, just... it's, it's THEM!" Little Mac exclaimed.

"Look, kid, it's been a long day trying to find you, so could you just quiet down for a minute and let us cut to the chase?" Snake asked, trying to sound as calm as possible.

Samus pulled out a large envelope with a red Smashball emblem sealed on the front, and handed it to Mac. Doc Louis noticed it, and his eyes widened.

"Wait a sec, is that-? Oh man, no way..." he began.

Little Mac was silent almost instantly as he took the envelope and noticed the wax Smashball sealing. For a moment, he didn't say anything, and simply stared at the envelope in disbelief.

"You... you can't be serious..."

"This isn't something we would joke about, trust me." Snake replied, a small grin evident.

Little Mac quickly ripped the envelope open and read through the engraved invitation inside.

"In short, the Hands wanted you to participate in the next Super Smash Brothers tournament." Ike said with a smile.

Little Mac looked back at Doc Louis, unable to hold back his shocked expression. "Would... you be okay with this, Doc?"

Doc Louis smiled. "As long as I can be there to support you, and if you want to do it, then yeah. Go for it."

With a whoop of excitement, Little Mac jumped up. "YES! This is gonna be amazing!" he exclaimed. He individually gave a quick handshake to Samus, Ike, and Snake, saying a quick "thank you" to each of them. Doc Louis laughed, and while he appeared to be calm over the situation, he was nearly just as excited as Mac was.

Samus grinned slightly behind her visor, and spoke up for the first time since they had arrived.

"Pack your bags, then. We're going to the Smash Mansion."

* * *

_**And DONE!**_

_**4,194 words... holy crap. This is by far the longest piece of work I've ever written in a oneshot.**_

_**So... I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do with this. Little Mac was a character I had never written about before, so I wasn't quite sure what to do with him at first. It wasn't until after quite a bit of thinking that I decided I'd write up a short story on how he became a Smasher in the first place. He's definitely not a popular Smasher yet, seeing as how he was just revealed a few months ago, so I thought 'Eh, why not do an origin story?'.**_

_**Personally, I think this came out OK. Not perfect, but OK. The ending was kinda cheesy, though. But whatevs. What did you all think of it? Good? Bad? Ugly? How did the music go with the fight seen? Was the ending kinda lame or decent? Was Snake a bit too unfriendly? Will I ever have the honor of fighting a monkey made of waffles? Feel free to voice your opinions.**_

_**Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! I'm looking forward to seeing the future chapters of fellow authors in this awesome collaboration fic, so GOOD LUCK TO Y'ALLZ =D**_

_**Anyway, this is Gnat, signing off. PEACE!**_


	10. Chapter 10: Smasher Pikachu

Collection of the Smash Stories: Unearthed

Chapter 10- Smasher Pikachu

**A/N: Hello. I'm Skydancing Dragon, and I'm a moderator of The Fanfics Forum, a wonderful place where the largest Smash Bros. collab is taking place at the moment. Seriously, go and check out the works of some of these authors, they're amazing.**

**To be honest, it's my first collaboration ever as well as the first time I've participated in a forum, but I'm honored to take part. This piece I've written below is my submission for it. I hope you enjoy this oneshot, focusing on Pikachu, in the next few moments.**

**Go Electric Mouse! xD**

* * *

When Pichu had first found out that he'd been invited to the hotel, he had been so surprised that he'd accidentally caused a city-wide blackout that mostly focused around cell-phone stores.

After the initial shock had worn off, Pichu had begun wondering why he had been accepted. Was it because he was special in some way? Was it because his electric powers were stronger than most of the other Pokemon? He couldn't understand why. Zapdos was much superior to him, a mere Pichu at the time; why had they chosen him?

The answer had revealed itself to him; to serve as a joke.

Although Master Hand had reassured him that he was as good as everybody else, Pichu could not believe it. Just a few weeks after the battles had started, Pichu was consistently losing. He couldn't even match up to any of his fellow Pokemon, much less Pikachu.

Pikachu was so much stronger than he was in many different levels. She was in many ways Pichu's idol; her strengths massively overpowered his, and she always found a loophole in her faults. Pichu, on the other hand, was often bullied because of how weak he was. He didn't have the power to retaliate effectively either, and often relied on Agility just to escape from them. Pikachu's Quick attack much surpassed his Agility, and his Volt Tackle, the only thing he really had that was different, had too much recoil. It injured him during his turns to fight, and hindered his performance greatly.

It didn't help that his tormenters jeered at him wherever he went and even during melees.

In order to improve, Pichu had gone online, careful not to unintentionally freeze the computer or break it. He'd searched for Hotel Smash on the Internet, with the translation set to Pokemon, and found out what the tournament he participated in was called.

Pichu had then stumbled upon something called the tier list. He had been curious about what a 'tier list' was until he found a list of all of the fighters he knew.

With each fighter were comments analyzing how good they were at battle. Pichu had been unable to find himself in the list. He finally scrolled down to the bottom, and on the number twenty-six was his name.

The only things he'd registered were the thinly veiled insults at how weak he was.

_'Pichu is the lightest character in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and it's top of the class in weakness, too!'_

_'…it's best suited for handicapped matches…'_

_'…just a clone of Pikachu…'_

_'It can only belong at the end of the ladder…'_

_'Stupid mouse…'_

A cold spear pierced through Pichu's drowning heart.

It was as if the whole world thought Pichu was completely useless.

_But I always knew that I didn't belong here._

_It's probably because I am. I am as weak as they say._

In the following months of the Melee Tournament, Pichu's performance had worsened even further, and Pichu never appeared during eating times anymore. He was nowhere to be found, only appearing when he was forced to fight. And even then, he looked terrible: yellow fur, once so clean and neat, became matted and dirty, his little tail drooped so far down that it appeared to be broken, and Pichu's black eyes were dull and unseeing, cold mirrors reflecting whatever their sightless pools caught.

Unsurprisingly, his former bullies had stopped pushing him around; Pichu seemed so zombie-like in appearance that he became the manifestation of the entities that they only saw in nightmares. Because of this, they decided not to bother him anymore, since he was already destroyed to the point of no return. It was as if Pichu had already died and was just a corpse with no heart or soul, no spirit or emotion.

An empty shell.

Pichu had always spent good days sitting outside beneath a tree, staring at colorful flowers and trying to recall how exactly the feeling of happiness felt. That day, however, he had been interrupted by a large, angry-looking dark blue stone smashing through his tree's leaves and cracking the earth. A second later, the rock disintegrated into sparks, revealing a round pink puffball.

It was Kirby.

"Poyo! Poyo!" Kirby bounced up and down, concerned. Pichu had thought that perhaps Kirby was apologizing, since immediately afterwards the puffball bowed to him for three seconds without looking back up.

Now, looking back on it, Pikachu thought that, yes, Kirby had probably been anxiously saying sorry.

At the time, though, Pichu had only sighed and tried his best to communicate with Kirby, who had apparently forgotten to bring out his translator even though Master Hand would probably find out some way or other and yell at him for it.

After a while of talking unsuccessfully, Kirby gave a little wave and went back to furiously training. Pichu had watched the puffball swing his hammer extremely hard at the sandbag, which it had brought out. The sandbag flew up, and Kirby performed his strange sword-slashing attack, which battered the sandbag even further into the sky.

For some reason, this had provoked a slightly uneasy feeling in Pichu's gut, and he attempted to wave goodbye to Kirby before returning to the hotel, careful to stay out of sight from any other Smasher.

He had entered through the back doors, nose twitching as he picked up the scent of burning waffles. His silent question was soon answered by faint screaming yelling something about saving lunch. Pichu determined it to be Peach, and continued up the steps.

Finally reaching his room, Pichu had activated the door's mechanisms with a controlled shock, scampering inside and locking it with another jolt of electricity.

Once inside, Pichu contemplated about the discomfort that he had felt outside with Kirby. The pink puffball had seemed so concentrated, so focused on his training. Pichu did know that Kirby had been spending basically all of his free time zipping around the fields and breaking things, but he wasn't sure why that affected him, even if the last time he checked the tier list Kirby had been placed at twenty-fi-

Realization had struck him fast as lightning. Pichu wasn't sure how he hadn't spotted it before, since he'd been thinking about that train of thought for weeks already.

While Pichu had been wallowing in self-pity for months and months, Kirby, who was only one spot above him, had been training nonstop. The arrival of the new Smashers hadn't helped Kirby at all, bringing him from the top five to next to last. Just looking at the list, Kirby should have been much more shattered than he was.

Instead, Kirby had walked up to the number twenty-five and had given it the cold shoulder, refusing to give up and working even harder. His mindset was what made all of the difference; while Pichu slowly grew further and further depressed, Kirby trained harder than ever, rebuffing the action of conceding.

Pichu was pretty sure he'd found a new idol.

Walking up to his window, Pichu had opened the curtains, allowing light to seep into his room for the first time in several months. Leaning out the window, yellow ears perked, Pichu blew the dust off of the counter and watched the grains blow away in the wind. He observed the little pink spot next to the tree swing a hammer around frantically, movements extremely disconcerted.

Pichu's mouth screwed itself into a smile.

It felt good.

"Pikaaa!"

The yellow mouse's cheeks sparked with electricity as a huge pillar of lightning came from above, dark storm clouds forming high above the stadium. His opponent was sent flying far up, almost over the arena limits, but he nimbly made her way back down in a zigzag pattern, making it hard for Pikachu to predict where she would land.

Pikachu solved this with a quick, decisive bolt that traveled all over the arena and prevented him from touching the ground. Leaping into the air, he head-butted her and summoned up more voltage, allowing the clouds to travel to the edge and zap her.

Samus flew right out of the arena limits and was transported out, the announcer yelling "Game!"

When Pikachu returned to the lobby, he greeted Kirby, sending a static shock through the puffball. Kirby leapt back, warmly punching Pikachu, the mouse's tail waving up and down.

A hand on his head interrupted their play fight. Looking up, Pikachu surveyed the person that he'd just barely won against in their brawl.

Rubbing his ears affectionately, Samus smirked down at him, arms crossed.

"You did well, but the next time we fight…" The way she said it made it obvious as to what she was suggesting.

"Let me guess, you're going to win? Well, I'll be looking forward to it! You were hard to fight."

"I appreciate it."

With that, Samus left, and Pikachu was left with many thoughts running through his head. He reflected on the fight, admitting to himself that the brawl he'd just had was hard. To be honest, he wouldn't have won without the beam sword that he happened to pick up while on his second life.

It was a really close game. She sure did well. But…

…compared to the Pichu I was just two years ago, I'm sure my feet are firmly planted on the ground and ready to move forward. I'm not going to stop working at any time, nor step back.

And I'm certainly not going to lose to my previous ranking.

* * *

**A/N: Frankly, I thought I ended it kind of strangely, but oh well. In case you got confused, the reason why it switches from Pichu to Pikachu is because of the times that Pikachu is actually thinking about it, not remembering things. This mostly stemmed from the popular headcanon that the Pichu from Melee evolved to become the Pikachu in Brawl.**

**Anyway, I hope you all liked this. As always, R&R, and keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter!**


	11. Chapter 11: Smasher Falco

Collection of the Smash Stories: Unearthed

Chapter 11- Smasher Falco

**Hello, good day and hi, FanFictioneers!**

**It be Beyond An Anomaly here, coming to you live from a bedroom I've meant to clean for a while now but have instead been busy writing and what-not! Not much to say about me, besides...well, I've been writing on here for a year and a half now, and my first one-shot was for this fandom. I have other works...but that's all I have to say about that.**

**Also, I enjoy drabbling about pheasants with hypothermia. Yaaaaaay.**

**It's been an honor being a part of this awesome collab, and I hope you enjoy my one-shot along with the others before and after me. :)**

**So, without further ado, enjoy! :D**

**-BAA**

* * *

**Falco Lombardi**

* * *

Freezing.

"Smashers, take to your places!"

Snow was blowing through the brisk, crisp wind as the spotlight was turned on from the search towers above us. Shadow Moses Island was the name of this stage, and this was apparently where the towers above pummelled to the icy, metallic ground, the walls caved in only to repair themselves after a few minutes, epic violin music played, and these large, ridiculous robotic WMDs popped in every now and again just out of spite.

And during this time, it would be freezing.

In Alaska.

_Very freezing._

I stood there with my wings tucked into my armpits, feeling that maybe, just maybe a pilot jacket and a scarf wasn't enough for this place. My opponent, however, seemed to be even less bundled up than what I was. All he wore was some band to cover his forehead that swiveled around in the breeze, along with a skin-tight body suit. That was it. He had facial hair, sure, but the fact he didn't have something like even mittens blew my mind.

He stood next to a box, which I hoped for his sake was insulated. Our exhales turned into fog, as the countdown from the ominous spokesman finally started.

"Falco Lombardi! Solid Snake!" Solid Snake? ...Wow. I owed Jigglypuff an apology cake. "Are you ready?"

My feet chattered in their boots, making me wish the whole myth about us at Star Fox having metallic legs was actually true so I wouldn't have to feel them turn into two rectangular prisms residing in two larger cylinders.

"Three...two...one..." he thus promptly boomed, "GO!"

And the battle started.

The crowd cheered as I felt the warmth in my body slowly leave me while I attempted to walk over to the commando. What was interesting, however, was that he did...nothing. He didn't flinch, he didn't take a step, he barely even breathed.

_Is he frozen already? _I thought.

But no.

After just a few steps and my teeth bared, he looked away from me and got down on one knee. I was but ten feet away from him after what felt like hours of inching just to have him look away. I stared down at him, but it was almost as if he forgot I was there.

_What in the hell are ya doing?_

He placed two fingers over his left ear, and then, once the spotlight came down, a red exclamation point appeared over my head. His head turned upward once he heard the "BLIP!" sound that echoed from it, and that freaked him out enough to slide the box right over him, and just...staying there. He knew I was just a few feet away. He knew how cold it was. He knew of the battle were right in the middle of, with the audience in the front and the Metal Gear and gorgeous orchestra in the back.

But he didn't care.

He was just in his box.

"Go...Falco?"

"You can do it! ...Yeah!"

Fox and Wolf were in the audience, again, and they were already underwhelmed in the first five minutes. At least they had a BATTLE to see last time...

But...this?

My opponent, whom I haven't even heard speak a word to me yet, was under his hopefully warmed-up box, while all I did by the box was just stand there, shivering and tucking my hands tighter and tighter into the folds of my wings. All I could do was stare down at the box in silence, and soon, the audience's enthusiasm died down.

What. Am. I. Supposed. To. DO?

I tapped my foot against the box, at which Fox replied, "Uh...y-yeah! Go Falco! Kick that...box..."

Wolf then turned over to him, whispering. He stated one of the three things, if you ask me:

1. What in the hell is Falco doing?

2. What in the hell is Snake doing?

3. What in the hell are we doing in freaking _Alaska?!_

(Or, at least, _I _was thinking the third thing.)

"Hey..." I muttered towards the cardboard box. "You...DO know that we're in the middle of-"

"Shhh!"

My eyes widened, beak pursed. I leaned down to the box, growling, "What did y-"

"SHHHHH!"

And then, silence.

Soft muttering.

But not from the screaming pheasant who wanted to chuck the insulated box out of frustration at that one guy who just stood up from his chair to "refill his popcorn," when really, he was seeing if the battle royale between a raccoon bandit and cyborg ninja a few dimensions away was anymore interesting than a bird trying to coax his own freaking opponent out of hiding.

(And yes, now that I say that, I do realize that a fight between a raccoon and a robot is waaaay more interesting even not considering the circumstances...but we still had a brawl to finish...or at the very least start.)

"COME ON!" I roared at the box, kicking it with the metallic tip of my frozen shoe. Unbelievably, the epic violin orchestra found it in them to continue playing during this whole fiasco. They also got a saxophone player. They also got a singer.

It was a beautiful melody that was there from the beginning, and it was a harmonious piece that was far better than what I experienced in the past. And you know, I felt bad. These people were probably freezing and annoyed like I was, and I was here being whiny and easily frustrated with this guy.

Then I had an epiphany of sorts...

"Um...Falco?" Fox murmured from his seat only audible enough for me to hear.

"You...uh..." Wolf hesitated. "You gonna..." He made a motion for me to flip up the box. I turned to him, seeing his muzzle half-covered with a black scarf that covered his pursed lips. I found myself shaking my head, and I noticed him leave. So did Fox after a while.

So did everyone else who took a seat in the Shadow Moses Island stage. Even the announcer left after a while, leaving just me and Snake under a few spotlights the special effects crew decided to let be as they were.

And why did they all leave?

They were agitated.

They were bored.

They were freezing.

They were kinda like me, but then...I heard the orchestra STILL go on. If anyone deserved the kudos, it was them, really. Snake and I did NOTHING, and you know what? I was okay with that after a while, because at least none of us were the last to go.

With a pause, I tapped the box with my wing and muttered, "Hey, uh...Snake?"

I heard muttering from inside the box, which I dismissed for the moment.

"It's over," I felt the tinges of annoyance and pure disappointment in my voice when I stuttered, "Y-You can..."

I was interrupted by the slow lifting of the cardboard, as I saw the box tip over. Soon, these beady brown eyes began staring at me, as Snake held his two fingers against his ear, attempting to block out the harmonious cello for some odd reason.

"Hey." That was literally the first word he muttered to me the entire "match." "I've got a question."

Is the brawl over? Yes.

Are you pissed at me? Eh. Kinda. You're lucky you have a band to calm me down. If this was New Pork City's music, your feet would have been in your lungs by now.

Cold? VERY. FICHINA AIN'T GOT NOTHING ON ALASKA.

Want some hot cho-YES.

"Slippy," he stated to me, "Is he your mechanic?"

It struck me as bizarre and unexpected, but at the same time, I didn't expect him to grab a mug of hot chocolate for me neither.

"Um...yeah?" I answered, tongue numbed and frozen.

He nodded at me, turned away...

And THAT was the end of our lovely conversation.

"So...you'll make that for me? Really? Cool, I'd like that," he remarked to himself, looking around. All I could do was stare. Snake, at a point, turned to the orchestra and gestured them to stop; I raised my brow at this. "Yeah. Uh-huh. It better be one hell of a machine laser molten lava gun. Ya got it?"

A...what?

"Okay, yeah. You got my address, right? Cool, cool. Yeah. What's your name again?" I finally saw what it was. A Codec. Similar to a Bluetooth of sorts. I knew that much, anyway, but who was he calling? "Slippy Toad, huh? Ah. Okay, yeah."

...WHAT?

My mouth opened a little. Surely he didn't blow off an entire brawl just to talk to-

"Great. Thanks, Slippy. That'll sure warm me and everyone else up. Glad I got your number from Otacon. Yeah, yeah. Okay, bye."

...WHAT?!

He hung up, staring at me and then the empty bleachers, vending stands, announcer's booths...and the orchestra left, too. I was bummed because of the silence, freezing because of the obvious, agitated because of the circumstance, and stunned that a military commando put a battle on hold just to place an order for a fire weapon that the village idiot of the gaming world was to make for him; a weapon in which he could barely use IN FREAKING SNOW.

"Where...where did..."

"They left, Snake."

"Why?"

"Well, placing an order isn't exactly what you should do in a brawl. You're supposed to...you know..."

"But it was a one-time deal! Slippy-"

With that, I made my exit, and after an excruciating battle filled with failed prospects and no contests along with annoying frogs I wish I could have just left in Corneria, I bought a round of hot chocolates for the orchestra that kept me sane, as we watched a cyborg and fellow anthromorph duke it out on the big screen in the comforts of the Smash Mansion lobby.

It was warm in the lobby, and we didn't need some gun to help us increase the temperature.

...Alaska, though. Brrr, man.

* * *

**Haha, yep! This one-shot has been in my head for a very long time now, and I'm glad I was finally able to put it on paper! I wanted to do something with the Easter Egg in Shadow Moses Island, where if you press down 1 and 2 as Snake and Falco's your opponent, instead of him calling Otacon, Mei Ling or Campbell, he calls Slippy and talks about weapons! I always wondered how that would go down in the actual circumstance...**

**Also, this does make a bunch of references to my own, first ever one-shot, "Embarrassment and a Terrible Soundtrack," and in my mind, this is a follow-up of sorts. It has the same snarky tone with Falco as the narrator, and it makes a lot of references to the music...**

**Anyhow, thanks for reading! Be sure to check out the one-shots of all the other amazing authors in this project that have been my friends, my favorites, and my inspiration for still reading, writing, reviewing and enjoying this fandom's stories and what it has to offer. Thank you all, I hope you enjoy, and do stay tuned for more fabulous stories of the Smashers. :D**

**-BAA**


	12. Chapter 12: Smasher Villager

Collection of the Smash Stories: Unearthed

Chapter 12 - Smasher Villager

* * *

**Boop! It's me, CrystalClearCourier! And this is my contribution to this collab.**

**I've decided to try my hand at something besides humor: a free verse writing piece of poetry. I hope you enjoy.**

**Cheers to the authors at The Fanfics community and forum; you guys are great writers in all of your very own special and unique ways. I'm glad we're able to work together on this huge project!**

**So, without further ado, let's get on with this.**

* * *

**Villager**

* * *

_He exits from his house_

_routinely welcoming the scenery of a new day_

_with a bright smile adorned on his face_

_as he makes his way down the path_

_to the mailbox_

_to soon withhold a crisp, white envelope with a seal._

-\-

_His irises of black quickly dart over the handwritten invite_

_and in his excitement, the parchment is dropped—_

_in turn for breaking into eager, fervent running_

_to hop on the town's next train_

_and join the revered communion of fighting brotherhood and brawling fellowship_

_the Super Smash Brothers._

-\-

_He arrives at the home, not dwindling a moment too late_

_taking a bewildered stroll to the mansion's entrance door_

_twice knocking_

_and soon greeted by all powerful hand brothers; one of create and one of destroy._

-\-

_Steadily, he ventures further inside_

_and his bright, round eyes take in amazing new sights_

_seeing glimpses of a plumber of red, a swordsman of green, a puffball of pink and a hedgehog of blue_

_along with many other new faces and new friends and new allies_

_and the meaning of _family_,_

_as family is not too far off from brotherhood._

-\-

_And now, as he soars airborne in the radiant glows of spotlights_

_inside an audience-filled boxing arena_

_the flying kicks and punches and counters in the midst of the heated battle_

_doesn't seem to faze him one bit._

_He has retained what he has learned best from his training_

_and he smashes his fist against a freely floating ethereal sphere._

_-\-_

_The shatter and chime of the almighty orb_

_is the salient alarm of inevitable defeat for the players_

_and the villager reveals his authentic, good-natured smile._

_While his eyes shimmer golden from the energies within the orb_

_he unleashes his momentary end-all attack—_

_and the players fall victim to the explosive barrage, ultimately losing the long fight._

-\-

_A boy in simple clothes is soon standing in the ring alone_

_as the audience competes to drown each other out in with their collective applause._

_He has come a long way from home, changing gears_

_from a reserved and quiet lifestyle to a thrilling and lively one_

_and to prove for an effort wasted not of his recently displayed potential_

_he relishes the crowd's noise, and the speech of the announcer_

_proudly calling out his name_

_declaring him_

_victorious._

* * *

**So, did you like it? I sure hope so. It's the most effort I've ever put into any of my writing, and I think I went above and beyond my usual expectations of writing poetry. I like the way this turned out though!**

**Anyway, thank you so much for reading. Please enjoy the other authors' stories in this collection, as we have all worked very hard on them!**

**See you around!**

**CrystalClearCourier**


End file.
